//------------------------------// // Inseptium Nova-Pt 15: Volare // Story: Blue Angel // by V-Pony //------------------------------// September 14th, Evening...Sweet Apple Acres... ------------------------------- No man is an island, entire of itself... -John Donne ------------------------------- Volare honestly wasn't sure what to say to fix the situation. He knew that Trixie didn't mean to insult Applejack on purpose; in fact she'd merely followed his advice of "do as they do and mingle," albeit far too literally. Even so, he could tell that AJ was just barely keeping her composure, and seemed just a hair's breadth away from bucking Trixie halfway back to town in one go. Judging by the general reaction to her behavior, the blue magician quickly realized that she might have said the wrong thing, and swiftly resumed her previous position of holding her umbrella against the storm behind them, her friendly grin being replaced by an apologetic smile. "Um, eh-heh, Ms. Applejack, if you'll just hear me out, I'm sure we can"- "Nope," the orange pony said flatly with a light stomp of her hoof that caused Trixie to back off the porch and into the wind. "Sorry Trixie, but there ain't no room at our table fer ya," Applejack explained, placing a protective hoof on Applebloom's shoulder and attempting to coax her inside. But to her surprise, the younger filly wrenched herself away from the mare, and whirled to face her with a look of confusion on her face. "Applebloom, what're ya"- "Aww, c'mon, AJ!" the filly cried, poking her lower lip out in the best pout she could muster. "It ain't fair ta leave Trixie out here in tha rain like that!" "Yeah, well it ain't exactly polite fer somepony ta show up an' outta tha blue an' insult ya on yer own front porch," Applejack snorted at Volare, taking a step towards him and lowering her voice, though the Pegasus did his best to stand his ground, given the circumstances...this mare could buck your head for an ace in the well in their front yard if she so chose, Volare... "An you...ya'll lettin' mah little sister run around with her," she jerked her head at Trixie. "What tha hay's wrong with ya, Volare? What made ya think bringin' her here ta mooch offa us hard-workin' ponies was a good idea, huh? Why don't ya'll just take her back ta tha hospital an-" "There's nothing wrong with him!" Scootaloo jumped between Applejack and her brother, puffing her little chest out and narrowing her fucshia eyes at the much bigger mare, who stepped back again, surprised that now two little fillies were sticking up for Trixie, who seemed just as surprised as she was by the sudden show of support. "The stomach bug is going around, Twilight's not feeling good, and there's no more room at the hospital, so we can't just take her back!" "Well, Ah'm sorreh ta hear that," Applejack replied with a tinge of remorse, but only for those that were honestly sick. "Still doesn't answer why she's here an' makin' fun of us country ponies," she shot the magician a frigid glance that made the chilly air sweeping across the yard seem tropical by comparison. "Cuz Ah invited 'er fer dinner," Applebloom declared, much to Applejack's rising shock. "What tha hay, Applebloom?!" Applejack stared with wide green eyes at her sister, who still retained that defiant expression next to Scootaloo and between the two mares, with Volare off to the side trying to find a good moment to get a word in edgewise. But Trixie pre-empted them all. "If it's too much of a problem, I'll just be on my way," the magician declared, causing her three companions to stare at her in confusion. The Unicorn heaved a sigh and straightened the umbrella before speaking again. "Look, it's getting late and cold; you all need to eat and get warm, and the last thing I want is a fight on my account...again. If Applejack will let me, I'll just sleep under one of their apple tree or something tonight. Volare, thank for trying, but some things just never change I guess, even when you want them to," she gave him a half-smile and turned to leave before Volare caught the edge of her cape with a hoof and halted her. "No, no, no, you're not gonna sleep under some damned apple tree," the Pegasus shook his head. "If anything, I'll give you money for a room at the Ponyville Inn...oh wait, that place got half-burned down by Ray and Jill...shit." "Hey you," Applejack prodded him with a hoof. "Don't talk bad about mah trees, Volare-oof!" Applejack gasped as the Pegasus suddenly whirled and shoved her inside, gesturing for his friends to give him just a moment. "Now what the hay was that for, Volare!?" the farm mare glowered at him before he placed a hoof at his lips. He glanced about and quickly took in the rustic home, the multitude of Apple family portraits covering the red wood and wallpaper, the exposed oak beams crisscrossing above their heads that matched the material of the hardwood floor, and just the general aged feeling of the place, recalling it was quite possibly older than Ponyville itself. But at the moment, he was neither interested in the architecture nor the delicious smells of country-style food that wafted out of the depths of the home; no, there were questions that needed answering first. "Alright AJ, I wanna know a few things right here and now," he explained tersely. "What's your problem with Trixie huh? Is it cuz of what she did when she was last here, cuz from what I understand, she didn't just single you out; she slighted everypony just as equally." "Well, yeah, Ah'm still sore over that," Applejack admitted. "So how come nopony else seems to dislike her as much as you, huh?" he demanded. "Why the huge grudge?" "Cuz her magic is all illusions, and that's practically lyin'," the mare replied. "An' Ah hate lyin'!" "Wow, really AJ?" Volare gave her a skeptical look. "Is that really all there is to it? Cuz if so, that's pretty lame." "What, ya'll want a better explanation?" "Or at least a better excuse," he leaned back against the wall, meeting the mare's stern gaze with a stony one of his own. "Well, AJ, I'm waiting...didn't you say you agreed to help her?" "Yeah, well helpin' her out and bringin' her here, to mah home, are two different matters, pardner," she scuffed the floor with a hoof, either unable to answer his previous question or refusing to out of sheer stubbornness. "Why in tha hoof did ya take'er outta tha hospital in tha first place?" she finally asked, and the Pegasus decided that he'd best get the conversation moving again, since his sister and friends were still outside in the chilly air. "We didn't take her out of there, AJ; she checked herself out. I just paid the bill." "She did that with no place ta go? Tch, dern overly proud fool," the mare muttered disapprovingly. "She's not, AJ," Volare's sharp retort drew Applejack's attention back to his face. "You wanna know why she left? It's cuz she gave up her room for a sick little kid that was gonna get turned away cuz the hospital is full," Applejack's eyebrow shot up as he continued to speak. "That's why she can't go back, AJ," the Pegasus turned and cracked the blinds on the window, motioning for the mare to look outside. There on the front porch, was Applebloom wearing Trixie's hat, which was much too big for her, to keep her ears warm, it seemed. Meanwhile, Scootaloo was giggling at how silly her friend looked as Trixie wrapped her cape around the shivering Pegasus filly, shielding the rest of the two with her body against the weather as the umbrella had faded away into the void it had been conjured from. Applejack could have sworn that Trixie was a few shades darker blue than usual, and that's when she saw the magician's teeth chattering in the chilly air. Against her own better judgement, Applejack's pre-prepared scoff caught in her throat as her heart actually went out to the Unicorn keeping the fillies warm. Satisfied with the farm mare's reaction, Volare spoke up again. "Now then, does that look like an overly proud fool to you, AJ? And don't lie, cuz you said you hate liars," he shut the blinds and looked at her. "Right?" "Yeah...Ah do..." she said with a sigh before an aged voice called out from down the hall. "Applejack dearie, who's at the door?" "It's me, Grannysmith," Volare called out before remembering that she'd never met him before, much less heard his voice. "Me, eh? Me who?" "Mah friend Volare, tha one Ah told ya about," Applejack leaned into the hall to make sure her elderly grandmother heard her correctly. "An' his friends." "Oh really? Company during this gale, eh? Where is he and where are his friends?" "Still out on the front porch," Volare preempted Applejack, causing Grannysmith's voice to change tone from kindly to surprisingly stern and authoritative. "Well for Celestia's sake young'in, let'em in!" the old mare's voice rang out from the dining room with a wap noise that Volare imagined was either her hoof on the table or her walker being used in lieu of her hoof. The Pegasus reached for the door, but Applejack beat him to it, blocking it for a moment before looking up at him with an expression halfway between annoyance and apology. "Volare, Ah...Ah'm sorry, alright?" she shook her head once and bit her lip; she wasn't one to mess up enough in order to apologize in the first place very often. "Old habits just die heard, ya know?" "It's ok, AJ," he patted her shoulder and smiled. "I feel your pain on that one. Now can you let them in before they freeze?" "Yeah, yeah, right on it," she pulled the door open and greeted the trio with a large smile. "Welcome ta Sweet Apple"- "Bout time, sis!" Applebloom cut her off with a hoof to the chest, she and Scootaloo pulling Trixie along with them and down the hall, leaving Applejack rubbing her chest with a hoof and shaking her head in disbelief. "C'mon Trixie, ya'll are gonna meet mah Grannysmith and Big Macintosh!" "Oh, heh-heh, alright, alright," the magician gave Applejack a small polite smile, took the hint of the Stetson hanging on the wall, and hung her starry hat and cape on the hook next to it before allowing the fillies to lead her into the kitchen. The sound of grating chair legs and voices of surprise being quickly covered up by friendly salutations trailed back towards the front door, where Applejack and Volare still stood. The Pegasus shut the door and glanced down at the Earth Pony, who wasn't quite sure what to say, feeling a bit of a fool for treating a guest like that....not to mention that if somepony had told her that morning that she'd actually welcome Trixie into her own home, she'd have told them they'd been hit in the head one too many times! "She'll be on her best behavior, I'll make sure of it," Volare said softly, bringing a light smile to the orange mare's face. She snorted, made to trot into down the hall, but then turned at the last moment and looked Volare in the eye. "Oh, and how ya gonna do that if'n she tore down a building all on her lonesome?" a smirk played about her lips as she spoke. "Well, Pinkie helped, ya know," he stuck his tongue out of the corner of his mouth in reply. "Ya'll are sweet, sugarcube, but not sweet enough that ya'll won't owe me for this'n. Lucky for ya'll Ah don't make promises Ah can't back up," she smirked and hoofed him roughly in the chest before flicking her tail across his face. "C'mon, let's introduce ya an' keep Trixie from blowin' tha barn up." With a low chuckle as he spat loose blonde hair and sat his saddlebag down under Trixie's cape and hat, the farm mare led the pegasus into the dining room, where Grannysmith was leaning over he walker and shaking the hoof of the blue magician while Big Macintosh stood off to the side with Applebloom and Scootaloo. The large red pony cocked a suspicious eyebrow at Trixie and swept a glance towards Volare and Applejack as they entered the room, but to his surprise, his sister waved a dismissive hoof, indicating she had the situation under control. She led Volare into the kitchen to help carry the finished dishes into the dining room, though the pair still kept an ear on the conversation in the other room. Satisfied, Big Mac's ears returned to the upright position and he visibly relaxed, even approaching Trixie and offering her his own massive hoof in greeting, coupled with a friendly half smile, as was his wont. "Evenin', Ms...?" "Trixie," the magician shook his hoof and returned the smile. Wow, Volare was right; they are pretty friendly! "The name's Trixie. Perhaps you've heard of me?" "Oh yes, Ah have, youngin'," Grannysmith gave her a crinkly-eyed smile. "Er, good or bad?" the magician asked hesitantly. "Heh-heh, mostly bad, ta be honest withcha," she gave a dry laugh that started to sink Trixie's spirits before she was patted on the head by the older mare, as if she were a foal. The Unicorn wasn't sure how to take the gesture at first; it was simultaneously slightly degrading yet...comforting and not exactly unwelcome, she had to admit. She quickly shook the feeling off though as Grannysmith spoke again. "But, if'n Applejack letcha in, then ya'll are alright in mah book...oh mah, are ya'll alright, dearie?" the elder placed her hoof upon Trixie's face again and her eyes widened in concern. "Ya'll are as chilly as tha weather outside; what have ya been doing out there?" "She kept us warm while Applejack spoke with my brother," Scootaloo gave the magician a grateful smile. "An' without her magic, we'da been blown away by tha wind on tha way here!" Applebloom exclaimed, flopping against the wall and falling down dramatically, much to her granny's amusement. "Well, ain't that sweet of ya? Ms. Trixie, ya'll deserve a reward fer that," Grannysmith cut off the magician's protest with a sharp smile. "We'll getcha some food, a hot bath, and a warm bed ta sleep in tonight. Now don't that sound good-wait a sec," something Scootaloo had said earlier finally registered in her head and she turned to regard the filly. "Did ya'll say yer brother?" "Mhm, I did Grannysmith," the Pegasus filly nodded. "But Ah thought ya were..." she looked up as Volare re-entered the dining room with Applejack, both ponies carrying large platters full of biscuits, gravy, potatoes, grits, apple pie, and everything in between that you could imagine, all hoof-baked by Grannysmith herself that afternoon, as well as chilled mugs of fresh apple cider (virgin for the sake of Scootaloo and Applebloom of course). As the chef in question glanced between the Pegasi, two and two suddenly clicked together in her aged brain, and she let out a mirthful chuckle as she quickly caught on and rolled with it, unwilling to spoil the mood in her own home. "Ah see now, so that's your brother Ah've heard so much about," her voice caused Volare to look up and she beckoned him over, surprising him with a strong hug that belied her frail appearance before she looked him over and gave a low whistle. "Woo-ee, Applejack was right; ya'll need some meat on them bones," she nudged his leg and chuckled before the orange mare waved a hoof, indicating the table was set and ready to go. "We'll fix that right now; soup's on, everypony!" What followed was a bit of a strange affair for both Volare and Trixie, as it had been years since the pilot had sat down to a home-cooked family like this (Spike's cooking non-withstanding), while Trixie couldn't remember the last time such an event had occurred for her. The blue duo were a bit hesitant at first, opting to eat their food as politely as possible for fear of upsetting their hosts. But when Grannysmith looked up from her creamed corn and noticed their slow pace, she rapped the tabletop with a hoof and called out to them. "Do ya'll normally pick at yer food like a buzzard with bones or is their somethin' on yer minds?" "Oh, um, we just didn't want to offend you with bad table manners, ma'am," Volare replied, causing the entire Apple Family to laugh, even Big Mac who nearly choked on the mouthful of grits he was devouring. "What's so funny?" Trixie asked suspiciously. Uh-oh... But Grannysmith simply shook her head and continued to chuckle while Applejack glanced up for the barest of moments from a bowlful of mashed potatoes and gravy, decided the situation was in hoof, and returned to her task. "Youngin's, round these parts, if ya'll ain't diggin' in hoof an' hock, the chef feels practically insulted, like ya'll are too good fer her food," the gray-maned mare gave them a small smirk. "Yeah, c'mon!" Applebloom spoke around a biscuit. "It ain't good cold, ya'll!" Volare and Trixie looked at each other and then looked down at Scootaloo for support only to find that the filly was in the midst of an epic and messy duel with half an apple pie and would likely be in danger if she tried to speak, breath, and eat all at once. The Pegasus and the Unicorn glanced back at each other, couldn't help the grins that spread across their faces, and, at a level just barely below that of Applejack's pace, dug into their food with gusto, much to the delight of Grannysmith. For a good 20 minutes, the dining room was full of the sounds of food being occasionally devoured punctuated at times by comments of "are you gonna eat that," and "pass the salt," among others. But after a while, Grannysmith got curious, and was able to wheedle the events of the past few days surrounding Volare and Trixie out of her grandchildren and guests between mouthfuls of her Equestrian-famous Red Gala and cinnamon cobbler, as well as how the pilot had gotten there in the first place and how he'd spent the day learning all about pony magic, which Trixie herself was rather impressed with. The elderly mare took the news of him being a former human surprisingly well, stating that it didn't matter to her where he'd come from; what mattered the most was where he stood right now, and that was quite the elevated spot in her sight, considering all that he'd done since arriving less than a month ago. Trixie, on the other hand, was totally shocked that it had been him that played that music back at the Griffon the other night when she fought Octavia, saying that she didn't understand how a Pegasus could power a piece of a equipment like that. Volare replied that he wasn't sure either, but Twilight was on the case, having tested his brain patterns with some crazy contraption she kept in her basement before sending the results to Celestia. "And they say I'm crazy," the magician chuckled a bit derisively. "At least I don't lure ponies into my basement and do experiments on their minds." "That's cuz you don't have a basement, Trix," Scootaloo smirked cheekily. "Or a house for that matter." "Touche, little one, touche," the Unicorn took the jibe in stride, levitating a dollop of whipped cream from an apple pie and dabbing it on the tip of Scootaloo's nose before the filly knew what hit her. Volare couldn't help but grin to himself; here he was, a Pegasus, eating food at Sweet Apple Acres...he couldn't imagine what fan of the show wouldn't just kill to be in this position right now! But that thought gave him pause...the gaps between him realizing that these were characters from a show were growing larger and larger, the current one being nearly 15 hours until that particular moment. In fact, it almost irked him that he'd return to that thought of them only being from a show and nothing more...it made him feel like an invader even though they'd invited him not just to this home for dinner...but brought him here to this world to save his life from that crash. Suddenly, he didn't have much of an appetite anymore, and the other ponies quickly picked up on his crestfallen mood. "You ok, bro?" Scootaloo spoke up, nudging Volare out of his thoughts with a timid orange hoof. "Huh-oh, yeah, I'm good," he nodded, though it was clear he wasn't fooling anypony. "Sorry, just...thought back to how I got here, that's all." "Ah see...sounds like it was quite tha harrowin' experience, young'in," Grannysmith frowned. "Ah tell ya what though, after staring ol Death in tha face as many time as ya have, Ah'm surprised ya'll are scared by anythin' at this point," she declared encouragingly. "Oh, heh, trust me, there're still plenty of things out there that scare me, Grannysmith," he chuckled and shook his head. "It's the nice stuff like this that makes going through all that hell worth it though, ya know?" "Mhm, Ah second that'n," the elderly mare cracked a near-toothless grin and glanced at Trixie. "An' you, dearie; ya'll don't seem too scared o' much, eh?" "Oh, well, I don't mean to brag," the blue magician began with a bit of a smug air before catching Volare's skeptical look. "Ah-what I mean to say is...the list of things I'm afraid of now has certainly dwindled over the years, but"- "Aw shoot, Trixie," Applejack spoke up and hoofed the mare in the shoulder, albeit none-to-gently. "Ah know ya'll don't care much fer embarrassment." "As I'm sure you don't either, Applejack," Trixie replied rather sharply before continuing. "I was going to say that while my list of fears has gotten shorter the older I've gotten, but what remains on it...those are certainly still in the back of my mind. And yes, Applejack, public humiliation is up there, as is betrayal and death, but surely you share those same fears as well?" she asked with a bit of a biting tone that put Volare a bit on edge before Grannysmith broke the tension with a cackling laugh. "Hahahaha, well, ya'll definitely don't fear mah granddaughter much, that's fer sure," she chuckled as Trixie shot Applejack a sidelong smirk that the farm mare returned with a soft growl and a shove under the table, to which Trixie responded by magically flipping Applejack's mane into her eyes. "An' ya'll are purdy good at magic. How'd ya'll get so good, anyways?" "Oh, it's not much of a tale to tell, honestly," Trixie waved a hoof, this time rather sincerely, but Applejack pressed forward with a smirk of her own. "C'mon, why dontcha tell us how ya'll came ta be called Tha Great an' Powerful Trixie, eh?" the farm mare chuckled, and it seemed to Volare like Trixie winced at the recitation of that name. "Please don't call me that, Applejack," she said almost emotionlessly, and her tone caught the farm pony and everypony else in the room off-guard. "That name is...was...just...let me leave that behind me for now, alright?" "Whatcha mean, sugarcube?" Applejack tilted her head curiously, calling the Unicorn by her universal pet-name for everypony for the first time. Something about her tone was...the mare couldn't believe she was feeling this, but it she felt concern for the magician who up until this point Applejack still viewed as rather haughty. "What I mean is...that's just a showname I gave myself," Trixie explained tersely. "I'm no longer in show-business, therefore I don't feel I need the moniker." She paused for a moment of thought before speaking again. "And in truth, I don't feel like I deserve it much either." Her answered floored Applejack; she figured if Trixie was anywhere in a dictionary she would have been as far away from the word "modest" as possible. And yet, unless her ears were deceiving her, the Unicorn had just humbled herself before everypony in the room. "Aww, come on Trix, I think your magic is pretty awesome," Scootaloo spoke up with an encouraging grin, which Trixie met with a small smile of her own. "I mean, it's not as great as Twilight's but still"- "That's the point though, Scootaloo," the magician sighed. "I'm not the greatest and most powerful...tch, now that I look back on it...I see now how foolish I appeared," she wiped her nose with a napkin and passed her glance about the room. "But, I suppose you'd all like to know how I got the name? I warn you, it's not a very enlightening story, nor a very flattering one," she chuckled wryly. "But if you wish...I guess I'll tell you, if anything to just get this damn thing off my chest." "I didn't have much growing up. Mother and Father worked in a travelling circus of all things, and when I was born, they took me with them, so you could say I've eaten, lived, and slept showbiz since before I knew anything better existed in the world," she rolled her eyes. "Well, I honed my magical skills as best as I could, but I could never get past anything other than simple parlor tricks, which for the life of a circus mare, wasn't necessarily bad...I did feel that there had to to be something better for me out there, though. One day when I was around 10 or so, the circus came to Canterlot, and while there, I was allowed to tour the city and "get some culture" as my father put it. "Well, I was wandering the city like any wide-eyed young filly would: totally lost in the moment, when I happened upon Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. I thought: hey, I'm kinda gifted, maybe I should check it out!" she chuckled at the memory before continuing on. "As I was trotting through the halls, I lost my sense of direction while staring up at the stained glass windows that depicted the great Unicorns that had come through the school over the centuries, and I bumped into a table stacked high with what I can only assume was priceless pottery...I say "was" because the majority of it toppled over and as I was still very young, I only managed to catch two or three pieces with my magic...the rest shattered all over the floor and drew the attention of one of the Royal Guards stationed there. "I'll have you know I was one terrified little blue Unicorn! I thought I was done, that I'd be tarred, feathered, and run out of town," the Unicorn glanced at Applejack who couldn't help but smirk at the mental image that brought her. "But to my surprise, the Guard didn't do that, though he did march me down the hall, still carrying the pieces of pottery I'd caught, and right to the Head-Mistress's Office..." "Ya'll don't mean..." Applebloom gasped in shock at the implication. "Yes, I do mean," Trixie nodded. "Princess Celestia herself. I nearly died from fright as she looked down at me while the Guard explained what had just happened. I thought: no, tarring and feathering is too good for you, Trixie! Oh no, no, no, child, your goose is beyond cooked! But again, to my surprise, instead of sending me to the moon or something crazy like that, Celestia simply...laughed. She pointed out that it was rather silly of whoever it was to stack pottery like that, and besides, I'd done my best to save what I could, which was rather great and powerful for so young a filly...and that was when it started, you could say. "Celestia asked me to stay in Canterlot to study further at the school, but when I told my parents, they shunned me," the magician frowned at the memory. "Father told me I was wasting my time, that I'd never be 'great and powerful', while mother just laughed. They said that the circus was the best thing for a Unicorn like me, but if I didn't think so to just go back to the school...they had no problem leaving me behind and having another filly or colt." "So what did you do?" Scootaloo asked with wide eyes, to which Trixie gave her a small smile. "Well...as best as I can remember, I told my parents off, and father chased me out of the circus area, telling me to never come back, that I wasn't fit to be his daughter," she scowled and her hoof pressed a dent into the table as she spoke. "I said: you know what, you're right! I'm not fit to be your daughter cuz I'm better than that! And so, without any other real place to go, I went back to the School, told Celestia what had happened, and she welcomed me in. I'm not going to lie, those first few nights without my parents near me scared me to death, but I then remembered why I came back there in the first place, and I soon decided they weren't worth wasting any more time or emotions on. "I soon enrolled in the classes there, and things went very well for a good long time. I worked under Celestia herself for a number of years, but after a while...well...she seemed to be distracted by another pony of even greater potential than I. I heard rumors of what she was capable of, but I never did meet her in person for the rest of the time that I was there," Volare suppressed a quick gasp of realization...he knew who she was talking about, but did she? "I just...couldn't understand why I'd been left behind like that, and I did my best to advance and get better, hoping to win back Celestia's favor. But then I hit a wall, or a ceiling, rather. I reached a level of magic I couldn't surpass, try as I might; I got so frustrated that I lashed out at my own teachers, leaving me to educate myself, and Luna knows that didn't turn out well. I even gave myself this on accident while trying to deconstruct and reconstruct a brick wall in record time, hoping that such a trick would gain me the attention I craved," she pointed a hoof to a shallow, healed crack near the base of horn. "I did it to hone my dexterity, but I just never could get it done fast enough to break that record. And the day in which this happened," she gestured at the scar, "I decided that the time had come to just...move on. If I couldn't move up any higher in skill, then I'd broaden my horizons instead. So I left the school at the age of 19, but I quickly found out that nopony has much use for a Unicorn that only half-learned her studies, you see. So, I turned back to the very life that I'd sworn off for years: showbiz," she spat the last word in disgust. "It was then that I readopted the description that Celestia had used for me the first day I'd met her, and made it my own: The Great and Powerful Trixie. "It wasn't fun, it wasn't pretty, and the times between which I had to hide my shortcomings with illusions, smoke, and mirrors grew shorter and shorter as I constantly tried to one-up myself, constantly pushing myself to be the 'most magical Unicorn in all of Equestria', or so I eventually deemed myself in my denial in order to cover up my failures. My attitude grew worse and worse to the point that any friends I'd made in the School halted contact with me, and even the bartender in Canterlot grew tired of my self-pity. And so, seeing that I was no longer wanted in Canterlot, I began to travel around Equestria, picking up enough bits along the way to fabricate my shows. I'd stay in one town until I felt the heat on me, then I'd move to the next before anypony knew any better. "That went on for years until I was 25, and then came the night of the Ursa Minor Incident in Ponyville...I believe you all know about that," she chanced a wincing glance at Applejack, but to her surprise, the farm pony only nodded solemnly before twirling a hoof for her to continue. "Then, as you all know, I was absolutely humiliated as the lies I'd built up to cover my own insecurities finally caught up to me, and Twilight Sparkle exposed me for the fraud I was," she took a long drink from her mug of cider, as if to wash down the bad taste of the memory before continuing. "It was when she hefted that Ursa over her head that I realized who it was that Celestia had currently chosen to teach; who it was that, at the time, I'd thought was the cause for all the problems in my life, when in reality it was my own craving for attention and lack of patience that caused that. But I was too scared, angry, and embarrassed to care, and I fled into the Everfree Forest, my resolve to improve my magic beyond my current levels incensed like never before, if only so I might one day return and show Twilight who the real master of magic was...damn, what a fool I was," she slammed a hoof down on the table, startling everypony present. "Then the situation with Ray and Jill happened and if I'd just seen that they were playing me for a fool, I wouldn't be in this situation right now," she turned to Scootaloo and Volare with a sad grimace as she stood up. "And you two wouldn't have been hurt like that...and the Griffon wouldn't have been demolished...and the Ponyville Inn wouldn't have been burned...dammit, this is all my fault in some way or another!" her voice cracked and she squeezed her eyes shut, hung her head, and sobbed, at this point not having enough pride left to care that she was in a room full of ponies who were all staring at her in solemn silence. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm so damn sorry..." Trixie heard a chair grate backwards on the floor, though she didn't know whose it was, as well as the hoofsteps approaching her, but she didn't look up until she felt a warm, strong pair of hooves wrap themselves around her neck, and a voice with a southern twang said: "if that ain't tha most honest, humblin' story Ah've ever heard," she looked up to see that the pony hugging her was none other than Applejack. "Then Ah don't know what is, sugarcube." The orange pony's green eyes were slick with tears as she gave her a gentle smile, while Volare could do nothing more than just sit there and watch, afraid he'd shatter this precious moment like so much priceless pottery if he said anything. "Ah'm sorreh Ah gave ya such a hard time before." She crushed Trixie to herself again and simply held her for a long moment before releasing her, grabbing a napkin, and hoofing it to the magician so she could at least wipe her nose and retain a little pride. "Th-thank you, Applejack," Trixie wiped her eyes and blew her nose into the napkin before heaving a deep sigh and looking the farm pony in the face. "It's much appreciated." "Feel better, sugarcube?" "Much, yes," the Unicorn nodded before chuckling to herself. "Heh-heh, imagine if Twilight were here...she'd never let me live this down." "Nah, she'll never have ta find out if ya'll don't want it ta leave this room," Applejack spat into her hoof and held it out. "An' on mah honor as an Earth Pony, ah promise ta cutcha alot more slack in tha future." "Yech...do I have to spit in my hoof, or can I least wash it afterwards?" Trixie grimaced while Applebloom and Scootaloo giggled. "Well, o' course," Applejack said matter-of-factly. Satisfied, Trixie made do with grasping the mare's hoof before rushing into the kitchen to wash it off. "Ah swear, she's almost as bad as Rarity when it comes ta bein' all froo-frooey an' proper...must be a Unicorn thing." "I'm not as froo-froo as you might think!" Trixie called out over the running water. "I did agree to help rebuild the Griffon once the supplies get here, after all," she declared, trotting back into the dining room, hooves now sans saliva. "Do ya'll know anythin' about buildings, Ms. Trixie?" Big Macintosh spoke up. "Well, besides speed-stacking bricks...I'm afraid not," the mare shrugged and blushed. "Heh, good thing mah brother here knows a thing er two about that sorta thing, seein' as how he helped build tha cow barn down south of tha orchard a few years back," Applejack thumped her brother's barrel chest with a proud hoof and grinned. "So, if'n ya'll are gonna help fix tha place, Big Mac can help...if he ever finishes north orchard harvest afore winter shows up," she smirked to which he simply snorted. "Ah'll get'er done, dontcha worry, AJ," the stallion drawled. "An' eeeyup, Ah'll certainly help give Ms. Trixie some pointers on how ta fix tha restaurant, which Ah must say Ah'm mighty impressed that she volunteered ta fix her own mess," he gave the Unicorn a warm smile. "Well, trust me, it wasn't me that came up with the idea, it was him," she pointed a hoof at Volare, who modestly scuffed the floor with a hoof. "He organized it all." "An' thus we come full circle here," Grannysmith spoke up for the first time in a good while. "Cuz of you darlin' all these things are now in motion; ya'll must feel mighty proud, eh?" "Nah, just doing what I can with what I've got, which after billing Trixie out of the hospital isn't too terribly much left," he chuckled dryly. "So then what's tha next step, sugarcube?" Applejack queried. "I think that one's pretty obvious, AJ," the Pegasus flexed his wings. "I gotta get airborne, learn how to really be a Pegasus, and, probably get a job with weather patrol or something," he trailed off, deciding not to jump the gun on what he planned to do about Rainbow Dash when she returned in less than two days; he really would like to surprise her...but at this rate, he wasn't sure if there was enough time. "So why ain'tcha flyin' then, hmm?" Grannysmith asked. "Hmm, whatcha mean, ma'am?" the Pegasus looked up from poking at a piece of pie he had eyed on the table and was contemplating eating in frustration. All this stress is making me fat, that's why I'm not flying, Grannysmith...hahaha, very funny, Volare... "Heh, ya'll say ya know about pony magic an' how it works, right? How it's all based on confidence in yerself," she leaned across the table and pointed a wrinkly hoof at Trixie for a moment. "Now, ya'll might wanna listen to this too, child, cuz although ya seem alot further along than Volare, Ah reckon ya'll are closer than ya realize." "I'm afraid I don't understand, Grannysmith," the magician cocked her head. "Do please explain." With a sigh and a mutter of a chuckle under her breath, the elderly mare spoke words that nearly knocked Trixie and Volare out of their chairs. "When's tha last time ya'll had a good buck?" she asked matter-of-factly with a faint smile. "It'd release alot o' tension ta have one an' help ya'll getcha ta where ya need ta be...hrm, maybe ya'll could even help each other out, if'n ya know what Ah mean, heh-heh-heh." WTF?! was all Volare's mind could scream, as his jaw had dropped open with so much force as to render him speechless. He could only imagine what was going through Trixie's head at the moment, but by the look in her dilated eyes and the quick sidelong glance of what the hell she shot him, it was probably along the same lines as himself. Hey, whaddya know, Grannysmith was right; we are alot alike...god help me... The pilot didn't understand how the other ponies in the room could just sit by and smile like they hadn't just heard what he knew they'd just heard, but there they sat anyways, smiling in anticipation of their answer; even Applebloom...holy hell...Scootaloo! "U-um, excuse me?" the magician was the first to finally find her voice, though a nervous sweat continued to bead her forehead. "The last time we had a good what now?" "Ya know, a good buck," Applejack replied with a grin. "Can't go long without havin' one sugarcube, er else most ponies just don't work to their potential. Why, just tha other day, Ah got mahself a great buck an' harvested half tha Southeast field by mahself," she declared, though Trixie and Volare still wore rather thunderstruck expressions which Applejack mistook for skepticism and she turned to her brother. "Hey Big Macintosh?" "Eeyup?" the large pony looked up from the mug of cider he'd been nursing while keeping an ear on the conversation. "When's tha last time ya'll had a good buck?" "Hmmm...Ah reckon just last week, but Ah ain't had a good once since," he gave a small, rumbling chuckle to which Applejack replied by flinging a piece of cauliflower at him that bounced off his nose and caused him to let out a small sneeze which got the entire room laughing...all except for the two blue ponies, of course, who were still halfway between confusion and revulsion that they'd talk about something like this at the dinner table, and in front of the foals, for crying out loud! "Well, that'd explain why ya'll are so far behind on yer end o' tha harvest," Applejack smirked before Applebloom spoke up. "Oooh, ohh, can Ah tell'em mah buck story, please AJ?" the filly's innocent question caused Volare's jaw to somehow dangle even closer to the floor than before, while Trixie's head involuntarily slammed onto the table before jerking back up to stare at Applebloom. What in Tartarus was going on at this damned farm?! "Heh, sure thing sugarcube," Applejack mussed her mane. "Well, it was just yesterday at school actually, an' it came when Ms. Cheerilee gave me a"- "OK, OK, I think I've heard about just enough," Trixie clacked her cider mug on the table, thankfully sparing Volare's ears and conscience of...whatever was about to be said! "Aww, Ah didn't get ta tell mah buck story; an' it happened just a few minutes ago at the table," Grannysmith muttered, looking a bit crestfallen. "Hope Ah don't forget what it was, bein' mah mind ain't as sharp as it used ta be." OH DEAR GAWD! Volare's mind screamed as Trixie simply stared at the old mare. But-what-how could she-?! "Hey bro," Scootaloo nudged her brother with a hoof. "Is it ok if I tell mine before we stop, even though you already know it, please?" Volare's mind just about shattered into a billion pieces at his little sister's question, and it took every bit of willpower he possessed not to recoil from her touch or faint dead away in shock. "It happened with you, bro; don't you remember?" "W-whatcha mean, Scoots?" Volare stammered, trying not to meet Trixie's eyes which were full of growing disgust. "I-I swear, it's not what it sounds like, Trixie; honest! Right, Scoots?" he looked back at the filly in desperation, knowing that the magician seemed to have taken a liking to his sister. But if she thought he was...dear Jesus, help me, she's gonna kill me!! "Well then, do explain why it's not what it looks like, Scootaloo," Trixie glared at the Pegasus. "And please do so quickly," the Unicorn none-too-subtly placed herself between the two Pegasi as she spoke. The Apple Family sensed the sudden souring of the mood in the room, and Applejack moved quickly to intercede before things went further south. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, sugarcube, what's tha matter with ya?" the orange mare placed a hoof on Trixie's shoulder to calm her, but the magician merely shrugged it off and glared at everypony else in the room. "You know, I may be rather out of practice when it comes to socialization, but even I have standards when it comes to moral values, believe it or not; and quite frankly, you all disgust me. And that goes double for you, Volare; I knew you loved your sister, but...that's just revolting," she growled lightly, causing Big Mac's hair to rise on his hackles; he wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but he knew the power of Trixie when she lost herself the other day, and he did not want that happening in his own home! "Sugarcube, Ah don't understand," Applejack tried to be patient. "What'd we do wrong?" She looked to Volare for help, but he wore a mask of helpless mortification as he looked to her for answers. "Wrong!? You call me deceptive and then have the gall to give us all a nice dinner, change the subject to that, and then stand there and ask me with a straight face what you're doing that's wrong?!" Trixie's voice rose and she narrowed her violet eyes at Applejack. "You all make me sick...I'd rather go sleep out in the storm then spend another moment in your presence," with a final swig of her cider, the blue magician whirled and stalked out the door, leaving the entire dining room ringing with stunned silence that was finally broke as Scootaloo sprinted after her and reached her just as she was grabbing for her hat and cape. "Trixie, come back!" the filly begged. "Please let go of me, Scootaloo," Trixie snorted, unable to meet her eyes as the filly grabbed her hoof pleadingly. "I know it's probably not your fault," she shot a nasty glance towards Volare, who was silently standing in the door. "And I don't know what the bloody social norms are around here anymore, but I don't think I can stay here any longer and feel like I'm doing the right thing...I'd rather go back to living alone if this is how Equestria feels is the right way to treat their children." "But I don't understand," the filly replied, tears in her eyes; everything had been so happy and going so well and then...and then this! "We were just talking about buck, that's all!" "I know, and judging from Volare's reaction, he knows exactly what I think you're talking about," Trixie wiped her mouth in disgust and plunked her hat on her head. "Now, I won't blame you if you go back to him, but if you wanna come with me, I'll figure out a way to get you some help, kid." "But I don't need help! My bro loves me," Scootaloo cried, nuzzling Trixie's shoulder. "No he does not, Scootaloo," the magician replied with a sigh. "Not if he does that to you." "Does what to me?" the filly cocked her head, and it was the very tone of her voice that made the Unicorn pause in her trek to the front door and regard her with a curious look. "He hasn't done anything except hang out with me and save my flank from bullies and Ray and Jill." "Then what's this buck you said you had with him?" Trixie asked, looking up at Volare for an answer, but to her surprise, he merely shrugged; and judging by the pained expression on his face, he was seemed sincerely confused. "I had it when I was up in the tree when Ray and Jill attacked us," the filly replied with a straight face. Ok, now Trixie was confused. "Huh?" she managed to utter before Grannysmith called out to the pair. "Youngin's, please come back in here," the elderly mare pleaded. "Ah think there might be some sorta misunderstandin' here." Almost reluctantly, Trixie allowed herself to be lead back into the kitchen, where she looked to the grandmother figure for an answer, as did Volare, albeit he did it more in the air of hopeful vindication than simple curiosity. "Ah just realized somethin': Volare, ya'll ain't from Equestria, and Trixie here doesn't sound like she knows what we're talkin' about, maybe cuz she's been isolated for a good portion of her life; no offense, dearie." "Oh none taken, I think. But please explain why that matters here, " the magician stood her ground next to Volare by the door, ready to leave if the answer wasn't to her liking. "What Ah mean is ya'll may not be up ta snuff on Equestrian slang, 'specially among us country folk," her somewhat embarrassed answer stunned Volare and Trixie, who both looked to Applejack and Big Mac, but the stallion simply nodded, while a blush ran into Applejack's face, quite possibly because she thought she knew what they might have misunderstood their slang to mean. "Tha word buck has lotsa meanins dependin' on where ya go in this world, an' the local expression can sometimes confuse out o' towners like yerself. What did ya think we meant, youngin's?" Grannysmith asked them in a kindly manner. Volare glanced sideways at Trixie, but the mare shook her head, her cheeks flushed in mortification. What if they really hadn't meant...and then she went and made a scene because of...oh sweet Luna... "Ahem, well-uh," Trixie stammered, jabbing Volare in the ribs with her elbow instead. She looked at him, and he cocked an eyebrow before she made a subtly suggestive twirl of her hoof coupled with a questioning raise of her own eyebrows that he met with a small nod and a gulp. Oh yeah, they both had thought the same thing. With that settled, the Pegasus sighed, and spoke up. "Well, um...ok, please don't get mad, but," he halted, unsure of how to put it without offending somepony, but when he realized there was no way to convey why they acted that way if he sugar-coated it, he shut his eyes and did his best: "We thought you were talking about, well...let's just say it rhymes with a certain word where I'm from and...that particular words refers primarily to"- "Oooh, I think I know," Scootaloo declared with a grin. "He's talking about that one word he told me not to use: fu-mmmph!" she mumbled through her brother's hoof, who'd reached across the table just in time to stop her. "Oh for hoof's sake, Volare," Trixie rolled her eyes. "We thought it was a euphemism for sex, ok?" Her explanation drew and even greater stunned silence than her outburst earlier, and this one lasted so long that as artistically challenged as Volare considered himself, he likely could have painted a picture of the frozen ponies in the room before Grannysmith broke it with a long, loud cackling laugh. "Oh-hohoho-hahahaha-hee-hee-hee, no, no, no dearies," she wiped a tear from her eye and continued to laugh. "Ha-ha, that ain't what we meant at all; buck ain't been used like that since Ah was a little filly," she shook her head as she chuckled, beckoning the two blue ponies to take a seat, which they obediently did, feeling like the biggest fools on the face of the planet as Grannysmith explained that in this sense, the word buck in Equestria was used to mean an extra "kick" added to something, just like the action of a pony bucking at something. That extra kick could be used in insult, praise, or even to mean what they meant here; it all came down to tone and subject usage, and the elderly mare admitted they weren't the first she'd had to explain that to, although it had been years since she had to, so please forgive her for forgetting. "An' just ta between you an me," she leaned across the table as she spoke in what she thought was a whisper, though being hard of hearing, was more like a dull shout. "This here apple quit bein' juicy 'bout 50 years ago, so ta insinuate that Ah'd be able ta do that anymore would just be crazy, heh-heh-heh!" "Grannysmith, not at tha dinner table!" Applejack chided her rather ironically. "An' we can all hear ya." "Oops, 'scuse me child," the elderly mare chuckled, oblivious to the somewhat horrified expressions on the older ponies' faces that thankfully left Scootaloo and Applebloom scratching their manes in confusion. Thank gawd, Volare thought with relief...but then that made him think of raisins...apple raisins... Things that make ya go b-u-u-uh, he shuddered. "Anyways, where was Ah," Grannysmith pondered for a moment before finding her spot again. "Oh yeah, when we said buck here, we meant that somethin' that'd give ya an extra "kick" ta get over tha hump and help ya finish a task ya probably couldn't without it. It's just a local term fer inspiration afore somethin' tough." "Mhm, that's right; mah buck with Ms. Cheerilee was her tellin' me not ta get worried about that test, and trust mah gut if Ah didn't know tha answer...an' Ah got an A," Applebloom concurred with a grin. "Mah buck was thinkin' about all them ponies that'd go hungry if'n Ah didn't get those apples harvested," Applejack explained before looking to her brother. "Mah buck was Grannysmith's apple pies," Big Mac admitted with a small smirk, receiving a swat and a chuckle from Grannysmith. "My buck was not wanting you to die, bro, cuz you'd helped me so much," Scootaloo leaned against Volare, and he reflexively wrapped a wing around her and held her closely. "And cuz I love ya, heh-heh." Stop making my heart explode, Scoots! "I...sorry for assuming something like that," Volare said, though he was unable to give them a better explanation than that. Curse you, dark side of the brony fandom! "I apologize as well, both for my mis-assumption and my outburst," Trixie hung her head for a moment. "I'm sorry I ruined dinner." "Nah, ya'll just gave us a chance ta digest an' make room fer dessert," Grannysmith smiled, waving it off as no big deal. "Besides, now that ya'll know what this sorta "buck" is, ya can start lookin' for it." "But how do we find this...buck?" Trixie cocked her head. "What does it entail?" "Oh, it ain't nothin' in particular," Grannysmith replied with encompassing wave of her hoof. "Could be anythin', really. Heck, did ya'll know Ah get mah buck from talking ta jars and paintin' spots on the wall afore Ah make Zap-Apple Jam?" she cackled. "Kinda silly, eh? But ya know what: it works." "Mhm, that jam is amazing!" Applebloom licked her lips and grinned. "Eeyup," Big Mac nodded. "So it could be anything, eh?" Trixie rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Fer tha most part, yeah, but there's one thing about it ya'll should know afore ya start lookin' for it, an' Ah think that's why ya'll got stopped where ya were, darlin'," Grannysmith frowned. "As ya know, pony magic comes from friendship, relationships, things like that...it's funny cuz buck works kinda tha same way: it's hard ta get good buck from self-motivation; alota times, it comes from somepony or somethin' else," she leaned across the table and patted Trixie's hoof comfortingly. "An' when ya told yer story about how ya tried ta hoof it alone, and how ya'll got stuck and frustrated...Ah decided Ah had ta say somethin," she glanced between the two blue ponies and continued. "That's what Ah meant about havin' mah own buck a few minutes ago. Mah buck happened when Ah was hearin' tha stories of how ya'll can't quit get over the top o' that hill in whatcha'll are doin," Grannysmith said with a warm smile. "Trixie who just couldn't get any better so she practically gave up fer a while, an' Volare who, despite knowin' all he needs ta know about flyin', still ain't. That's why Ah asked if ya'll had had any good buck-any inspiration-lately." "I...think I see now," Trixie conceded. "Buck comes from outside inspiration, right?" "That's right, sugarcube," Applejack grinned and hoofed her lightly. "An' since buck an' magic go hoof-in-hoof with each other, they kinda play by tha same rules, where we draw strength from others. Ah mean, that's what me, an Twi, an tha others do: when we're in a tough spot, we do what we do fer each other and everypony else in Ponyville. We toss out our fear fer ourselves and fight fer our friends. When we're separated from other ponies fer a long time...well..." she trailed off hesitantly. "Things don't turn out well...things like me happen," Trixie finished her statement with a sigh. "Huh...I guess in retrospect I've never really had any real buck besides the desire to better myself," she admitted. "An' Ah reckon that's what limited ya, or fer tha most part made gettin' better alot tougher," Grannysmith. "Ah mean, a pony can motivate themselves, but it'd take an awful amount o' willpower an' time, usually longer than we're granted in this life." "No man is an island, entire of itself," Volare suddenly thought out loud, drawing strange looks. "I mean, it makes sense for ponies too, in that when humans are separated from each other, they can't thrive and improve; in fact, the opposite often happens...no offense, Trixie." "None taken; as said, I admit my shortcomings there," the magician conceded. "I guess that also explains why I acted the way I did: I feared failure and rejection so badly that I lied to cover up my weaknesses...heh, no wonder I never got any better, since I was too scared to trust myself to improve after I hurt myself." "Maybe you just needed the right help, right Trixie?" Scootaloo suggested. "Indeed, child," the mare nodded. "I just hope Twilight can help..." "Heh, if anypony can educate ya in magic, it'd be Twi," Applejack chuckled. "Just trust yerself, don't be scared, an' you'll be fine," she looked over as she noticed Volare chuckling to himself, and she fixed him with a curious smirk. "An' just what's so funny, sugarcube?" "Oh, what you said about not being scared," the pilot chuckled again and shook his head. "I guess that explains why Pinkie can do what she does." "Now Volare, if'n ya'll gimme a headache, so help me Ah'll show ya tha other bit o' buck we do round these parts," Applejack smirked and flexed a hoof semi-threateningly. "An' trust me, ya'll won't mistake it fer anythin' else." "Just here me out AJ," Volare replied. "Ok, you know how the potential of pony magic involves strength of will, which is bettered by self-confidence and lack of doubt and fear, right?" "That's right," the orange mare nodded. "Well, you also know how Pinkie sang that one song about laughing at what she's scared of?" "Mhm, Ah remember...wait, did she tell ya'll about that cuz if she did, it weren't in front of me," Applejack cocked an eyebrow. Agh, crap...well, not that she'll know any better... "Yep, she mentioned it to me over at Fluttershy's a while back," he brushed over the subject quickly and continued. "Basically, she said to laugh at what you're afraid of, right? Well, what's she always doing? Grinning and laughing...therefore, it would make sense to say that Pinkie has next to no fear...or doubt...loads of self-confidence...see where I'm going with this, AJ?" it was Volare's turn to smirk as the farm's pony's eyes grew wide while she put to and two together. "Wouldn't it make sense to say that Pinkie's magic potential is virtually unlimited?" "Yeah...gosh, never thought of it that way," Applejack shook her head in amazement. "Still don't explain how she pops outta everyplace under tha sun, though." "Maybe she just breaks the laws of reality?" Volare suggested. "...ya'll are nuttier'n squirrel pies, pardner," Applejack slapped the table with a hoof and laughed, as did everypony else for a good long moment at Volare's expense. But as he saw even Trixie joining in, he let it roll off his back and simply shrugged. "Or it could just be Pinkie being Pinkie," he chuckled before Grannysmith glanced up at the clock and tapped her cider mug to calm everypony down again, with Big Macintosh snorting loudly in assistance. "Thankee kindly, Big Mac," the elderly mare nodded and spoke up. "Well this has been fun darlins, but neither Ah nor tha night are as young as we used ta be, so Ah suggest we start spoolin' it up here," she looked to Trixie and smiled. "Ms. Trixie, Ah reckon ya have so much potential ta be had; just gotta find that buck ta getcha there; whatever it may be. You'll know it cuz you'll feel it in here," she placed a hoof against her own chest. "An' remember: it don't matter what it is, be it books, music, friends, er what-have-ya, or if anypony else thinks it's foolish. What matters is what yer buck means ta you and you alone, cuz it's as different fer everypony as cutie marks can be," she grunted and stood up on shaky legs, grabbing her walker and leaning upon it as she caught her breath and chuckled. "Heh-heh, hopefully ya'll figure out what inspires ya afore ya get as old as me; cuz buck'll only take ya so far if'n yer body's too beat ta use it." She smiled fondly at Volare. "As fer yourself, Volare, ya obviously have all tha knowledge ya need ta get back in tha air; now ya just gotta figure out how ta put it all together, otherwise, it ain't more than hot air an' scribbles on paper. It was nice meetin' you two. Night, ya'll," she waved a hoof and made her way towards her bedroom while the remaining ponies cleaned up the kitchen and dining room. "Aww, but I don't wanna go to bed yet," Scootaloo pointed at the clock when Applejack mentioned the time once the task was done. "It's only 9 and tomorrow's Saturday; can I stay up a little longer, Volare?" she gave him the puppy eyes she knew he couldn't resist. "Hmm, I dunno," the blue Pegasus gave her a squinty look. "What did ya have in mind if we stayed up longer, Scoots?" "Umm...oh, you could play some of your music," she suggested, and this got Trixie's attention. "Yes, I'd like to hear some of this as well," the magician declared. "I mean, after all, you do somewhat owe it to me for using it to help Octavia pummel me with her cello bows." "Since when do I owe you anything like that, Trix?" the Pegasus chuckled before the Unicorn levitated his saddlebag over to herself and held it up. "Oh, so then you wouldn't care if I tossed this out in the rain, since you're not interested in using the equipment in it?" she nodded towards the storm lashing the windows outside. "Um, yeah, I do care," the pilot reached for the bag, but she levitated it higher than he could reach. "C'mon Trix, knock it off!" he jumped but she held it up like some evil pinata operator. "Ooh, you nearly had it Volare. Perhaps if you had some buck, you could fly up there and-oof-hey, gerrofa me!" Trixie growled playfully as Applebloom tackled her while Scootaloo jumped up and jammed her hat down over her eyes. "Who turned out the lights?" "Our buck is helpin' Volare!" Applebloom declared with a giggle. "Yeah!" Scootaloo shouted as she tickled the magician mercilessly. After several moments of horsing around, Big Mac shooshed them somewhat, telling them that Grannysmith was already asleep. "Heh, will do, Big Mac," Volare nodded and Trixie hoofed him the saddlebag. He looked inside to make sure nothing was broken before looking up at the expectant faces of the ponies in front of him, and he snorted softly. "Big Mac, do you mind if we play some music before bed?" "'S'all right with me Volare," the red pony nodded. "Jus' don't get too loud." With that, Big Mac led the others into the front living room and turned on the lights, while Volare set up the speakerbox and set it to 2 before picking up the earbuds and placing one in in his ear. "Well, let's see...since we're in more of a country setting here, you mind if I play some music befitting it?" "Seein' as how ya'll said ya were raised southern, right?" Applejack laughed. "Ex-actly," Volare mimicked her with a smile. "Aww, no rock?" Scootaloo pouted. "But country's not as fun as rock." "Is to; in fact Ah say it's better," Applebloom smirked, receiving a raspberry from her friends before Big Mac settled himself between the two like a great red hill to prevent another argument before nodding his consent to Volare. Trixie sat down next to Scootaloo and looked to Volare, patiently awaiting what he'd play. "Hold on a sec, sugarcube," Applejack held up a hoof and ran out of the room, returning with a well-worn fiddle and bow that she held up with a hoof. "Ah'll play along if Ah can." "Oh-ho, think you can fiddle, eh Applejack?" Volare smirked, and the farm pony returned it with a fierce grin. "Ya'll better believe it," she grasped the bow in her teeth and nodded. "Well, in that case...I think I know how to start this little session off," and with that, he popped in the other earbud, and began... "Aww, that ain't fair," Applejack laughed, stomping the hardwood floor as she did so. "Ah ain't that good, sugarcube." "Ok, ok, so maybe I sat the bar a little too high-ow," he rubbed his head as Applejack whapped him playfully with her fiddle-bow. "I'll tone it down for this one...I may not be from the place this next one sings about, but I think we can all relate about wanting to go home where we're comfortable..." "You got a place you wanna go back home to, Trixie?" Scootaloo leaned into the magician, who smiled sadly. "No, unfortunately, since I traveled all over the place, I never really stayed in any place long enough to call it home, Scootaloo." "Hmm...maybe you can live in Ponyville, huh?" the Pegasus filly suggested with a hopeful grin. The magician chuckled and mussed her mane fondly; her spunky, friendly nature was infectious, she'd give her that. "We'll see," Trixie nodded and turned back to the two playing ponies, with Applejack commenting that the song made her appreciate home that much more. "Oh, I've got an even better one than that, if respecting where you come from is what you're looking for..." "Woo-ee, that one was good, sugarcube, but ya got anythin' just a little bit faster-paced?" Applejack gave her a cocky grin. "What, that fiddling song wasn't enough of a whuppin' for ya, AJ?" Volare chuckled, the relaxed atmosphere causing him to fall back into a country accent he hadn't used much since he left South Texas. "Ah think Ah can handle just about anythin' after that," the farm mare waggled her eyebrows and smirked, causing the pilot to give her a dramatically skeptical look. "Is that so...well, I know a song that...well, if you can keep up with it, I'll crown you the queen of country," the Pegasus smirked. "Or the fool of fiddling," Trixie suggested, and Applejack squinted at the magician, tossed her mane back over her shoulder, and looked back at Volare. "Bring it on, sugarcube!" "You asked for it, AJ..." It wasn't fair to say that Applejack couldn't keep up, as the fiddle-bowstring she was sawing with snapped about 3/4 of the way through the song, but by the frustrated look on her face and her gasping breath, Volare could tell she had been nearing her limit. "Shoot," the farm mare shook her head at her broken string and chuckled. "Ah ain't never heard a song like that afore," she laid the fiddle up against the wall with all the care of a mother cradling a baby before conceding defeat. "Ah've had it fer the night anyway...by tha way, what kinda instruments were those?" "Hmm, they were an acoustic guitar and a banjo," Volare replied, but Applejack merely cocked her head at the strange words. "Acoustic an' banjos?" she repeated the titles thoughtfully before shaking her head once. "Ain't ever heard er seen'em before." "Seriously?" the Pegasus asked, but then remembered what a certain lavender Unicorn had said earlier. "Huh, Twilight said the same thing, probably because you guys don't have fingers to pluck the strings with." "Well, duh-obviously," Scootaloo rolled her eyes, though Volare could tell that despite her earlier protest, she seemed to be enjoying herself nonetheless. "It would explain why the only stringed instruments ponies have are played with bows, though," Trixie offered insightfully. "Not even the country ponies have heard or seen them...interesting," Volare muttered and re-filed those thoughts yet again. "Well, would you like to hear more of the same?" At their enthusiastic nods, the blue Pegasus smiled, replaced the earbud, and focused on one of his favorite music artists, if not for his voice, then for the meaningful music he sang... "I'm glad you don't, bro," Scootaloo said as the song ended. "Huh, whatcha mean, Scoots?" "That you don't back down, cuz we wouldn't be here if you didn't," she declared with a grin. "Heh, I guess none of us would, even Trix here," she nudged the Unicorn who merely chuckled lightly and patted her on the head. "Well, I certainly wouldn't use myself as a great example of what to do, determined or not," Trixie chuckled in a self-deprecating fashion, if anything to hide the pained twinge she felt in her chest at that admission. Seeing the bit of pain in her eyes, Volare spoke up. "Well, I will say this, Trixie: you've got a long way to go to get back to wherever you wanna be, and so do I, but we've got one thing in common," he pumped his hoof and smiled. "We don't give up easy...this is the last song of the night folks, cuz I'm about beat, but...I think it goes pretty well with what we talked about tonight: finding your buck. I dedicate this to Trixie, for being proud of her for refusing to quit, and for taking her first of many steps up from the ashes of rock bottom..." Volare saw, but didn't think it wise to interrupt, as Trixie suddenly became overcome with emotion towards the end of the song, stood up, smiled her thanks to Volare, and trotted out of the room, wiping at her eyes as she did so. Applejack and her kin soon followed, if anything to help show Trixie to the washroom, leaving Volare alone with a yawning Scootaloo who shuffled over to where he was kneeling as the song ended and nuzzled him softly. He wrapped a wing around her small shoulders and kissed her forehead, placing the earbuds back in the saddlebag and turning the speakerbox off. After a moment of simply sitting and breathing, Scootaloo looked up, rubbing her mane under his chin as she did so, and spoke sleepily. "Hey bro?" "Mhm?" "Promise me something?" "Yep, Scoots?" "Don't give up...even if I'm not there to pull you up, don't stay down if you fall, ok?" The familiarity of her request struck him like a hammer, and it was all he could do not to burst into tears at the memory of Aggie speaking almost those exact same words back on Earth. Instead, he squeezed her a bit tighter with his wing and held her until she fell asleep. Moving as carefully as he could, he cradled her in a wing and carried her down the hall, following the nod of Big Mac as he looked up from his own bed. Volare soon found the guest room Trixie was sleeping in, and quietly tucked his sister in. He noticed that there were only two beds, and after a moment's thought, he trotted out of the room and back into the living room. Guess it's still couch-sleeping time, ol' buddy, he chuckled to himself as he located a blanket and tossed it onto the couch. But as he prepared to settle down to rest, he looked back at his saddlebag, which had seemed to have fallen over at its own accord, exposing the brass-bound corner of the Flight book. Volare looked about the room, sat down on the couch, returned his gaze to the book, which seemed to beckoning him; he never did get a chance to read the section on flight maneuvers... "Sleep is for the weak," he muttered after a quick glance at the clock. Climbing back to his hooves, he picked up the book and carried it over to a small writing desk in the corner, clicked the light on, and opened the book... ............... Outside, shielded by the weather by a shred of cloud it had wrapped about itself, the owner of two amethyst eyes wiped the rain from the window pane and peered into the living room, watching as the blue Pegasus named Volare scoured the pages of the Flight book like a pony possessed, occasionally stepping back from the desk and posing in the middle of the room, flexing his wings in different patterns before returning to his reading. After several minutes of this, the creature shrugged, re-wrapped the cloud about itself, and settled on the ground like a small patch of mist to await the dawn... ----------------- Semptember 15th... ...the grey light of which came all too quickly for its liking. Yawning and stretching, the creature realized the cloud around itself had been washed away by the light mist that continued to fall from the rainclouds above. With a gasp of surprise and a curse along the lines of "getting old and careless", it peeked into the window once more, saw that Volare had fallen asleep with his head on the book, and decided that it was in its best interest to get airborne and continue observance from afar. It had plenty of rations in its saddlebag, and it didn't wish to make a report until later in the day; no sense in upsetting her employer with an unrequested wakeup call. With a light grunt, the creature stretched its rust-red wings above its head, crouched down, and kicked off the ground with its hooves, disappearing into the slowly-drifting remains of the cold front in a crack of blue lightning that shook the entire house, jarring Volare's sleep into the first dream he'd had in nearly a week...and it just had to be a strange one to break the trend as an avalanche of thoughts and advice pummeled his psyche ................ If you know not yourself, nor your enemy, you have no hope of victory... Flames...the crash...rushing wind...crawling...screaming...hooves...stumbling...falling... If you know yourself, but not your enemy, you may lose or you may win... Anatomy...physics...red dusk sun...a field of blood...shattered glass...severed wings...more blood drops on the hardwood floor...falling, falling, falling...darkness... But if you know yourself as well as your enemy, you possess all that you require to achieve victory... Thrust vectoring...Angle of attack...VTOL...break point...lift...drag...roll...pitch...yaw... Buck-turn...feather flare...double outside loop...hackle brakes...cloud-kick...hock drop... If you know the path to victory, you need never fear defeat... "It's all about confidence and trusting your gut, dude..." a familiar tomboyish voice called from the depths of his memory. The fierce, rose-colored eyes of Rainbow Dash's burned with determination as the rest of her grinning features materialized in his mind's eye. "You've got instincts-use them!" But, how can that be? I wasn’t born a Pegasus, so where would the flight instincts come from? he protested, to which the Pegasus chortled and rolled her eyes; he seemed to feel something thunk down on his head as she spoke. "You’re a pilot you dork! All your instincts are up there! We just gotta move them from machines to wings... we just gotta help ya along the next few steps until you gain confidence in your wings, that’s all. After that, you’ll be flying on your own, I’ll bet!" she winked at him and grinned once more before she faded away again. "...you think I got to where I am by being a scaredy-cat.............................?" .............. You can't fly scared... Volare suddenly shot wide awake with a snort, toppling backwards out of his seat and landing with a loud thump on the hardwood floor and his right wing aching tingling along the black ring that ran around the base of it. Despite this, he couldn't help the huge grin that broke out upon his face, even as he heard and saw hoofsteps approaching. "Holy shit that's it!" he shouted joyfully as he looked up to see Trixie enter the room, clutching Scootaloo to her chest, though it was apparent by the early dawn-lit expression of irritation on the filly's face that it was against her will to be so. "What in the burning hay happened?" the magician asked in alarm, her eyes wide as she stared down at him in bemusement. "I could say the same to you, Trix," he eyed Scootaloo, who gave him an expression that read please god help me! "Oh, um, Scootaloo got scared by the thunder," the Unicorn replied, but the filly growled and pushed away. "Grr, did not; I got woken up by you hugging me like I'm some sorta teddy bear," the magician finally set her down and Scootaloo shook her mane. "Jeez, where'd that lightning come from anyways...and why're you on the ground?" "Heh, had a weird dream," he said as he got to his hooves and glanced back at the book. "First I've had in ages, actually." "What was it about?" Scootaloo yawned as Volare hurried to the door. "Wait, where're you going, bro?" "To get somepony whom I promised I wouldn't do anything stupid without her around," he shot her a quick grin before he galloped out the door in the direction of Ponyville, leaving Scootaloo and Trixie glancing at each other in befuddlement. What the hay had gotten into him? --------------- Ponyville Library... Twilight's dreams had gone just as roughly as Volare's, however, while the Pegasus' dreams were more of a good rough like a thrill ride, the Librarian's dreams were a fitful hodge-podge of imagery and reluctant recollections of personal actions she'd undertaken from the time that she'd met the pilot. From giving him his current form without permission, to practically forcing him to stay in the Library while she quizzed him on the human race for days on end, to her actions in Canterlot that went so far as her being willing to confront Celestia herself for the future of Volare in Equestria...and then the argument with Rainbow Dash in the hospital that had come to blows...she'd alienated herself from one of her best friends. All for what she now believed wasn't simply Volare's safety and well-being, but rather her own selfish desire to have him for herself, all stemming from the reactions her emotions were encountering while in his presence...and the turmoil they experienced when she was separated from him for weeks. My gosh...it's like I'm addicted to him...this is wrong...this is so, so, so wrong- Tap-tap-tap! "Huh?" a sharp noise from across her bedroom roused her from her near-nightmare. The Unicorn lay there under her warm blankets, the only comfort she felt at the moment before the tapping noise repeated itself yet again. She sat up and yawned, allowing the blankets to slide off from over her head and revealing her bedraggled bed-mane and sleepy violet eyes that she blinked in the direction of where the noise had come from: her curtain-shrouded window...a window that was a good 15 feet off the ground with nary anything to stand on besides a narrow window-sill mounted herb garden. "What in Equestria?" she muttered as the unmistakable sound of a hoof tapping on glass, and it galvanized her into action. Whoever was out there had to have good reason to do so, right? Stumbling out of bed, she hurried to the window, flung open the curtain, and stared out into the dawn-backed features of- "Volare?!" "Heya, Twi," the blue and yellow Pegasus grinned and waved a hoof, whirling his wings with a sheepish expression to keep himself from falling backwards. "Could ya open the window please; there's not exactly a whole lot of room to stand out here, ya know?" The Unicorn looked down and laughed despite her earlier gloom at the sight of the Pegasus precariously balanced hock-deep in her herb garden. Twilight quickly unlatched the window, allowing him to hop down into her room. "How'd you get up here?" she cocked and eyebrow as she shut the window. "And furthermore, why?" "Oh, heh, Spike's sawing a forest down there and I guess he didn't hear me knock," Volare nodded towards the stairs where, sure enough, the snoring of what common sense would usually say couldn't come from such a small dragon as Spike; in which case, common sense had never met the little guy. "As for how," he gestured towards the window. "Let's just say you're not the only night-owl reader here," he smiled and flexed his wings. "Wha-you flew up here?!" an excited smile split Twilight's features, but Volare shook his head and chuckled lightly; in fact, the scholarly Unicorn noticed that everything seemed lighter about him this morning, from his tone of voice to the spring in his canter. Just what the hay happened at Applejack's last night? Twilight wondered. "Oh, heck no; I jumped." At Twilight's doubtful expression, he explained that one of the techniques in the Flight book detailed how a Pegasus can combine its wings and legs for thrust from the ground, enabling it to take off into flight or a tall jump without the aid of wind or a run-up. "It takes a good amount of energy to do it, but I gotta say it's more fun than running into the wind at the very least; no wonder Dash does it all the time," he grinned. "Have you tried it before now?" "Oh, yeah, it took me two or three tries to stick the landing this morning," the Pegasus shook a twig from his wing. "Let's just say your shrubs under the window and I became fairly well acquainted more than a few times, heh-heh." "Are you ok, Volare?" she asked in alarm, but again, he only responded with a smile and a dismissive wave. "Yep, I'm just fine; there was another technique in that book about counter-thrusting downwards with your wings to lessen the impact before landing; hooves-down or otherwise," he explained. "Seeing as how I didn't break my neck or a wing, I guess it worked out pretty good." "You...you could've gotten hurt again," Twilight stomped the floor in frustration, feeling her emotions roiling up again. Calm down, Twi...calm down... "Sorry, I just...had a rough night," her ears drooped in self-loathing at the lame explanation, and she felt even more worm-like as the pilot embraced her warmly. "It's ok, Twi; I couldn't sleep either, hence the reading," he scratched the back of his head. "Plus, we know you care about me alot...and I care about you too, so it's...Twi, why're you looking at me like that?" he asked in worry as the Unicorn's gaze rose to meet his, revealing a pair of melancholy violet eyes brimming with tears. "Because that's what gave me such a rough night; this is exactly what I was afraid of," she muttered, and it was then that he noticed the battered appearance of her pillow, the remains of tears and mucous staining the pillowcase fabric, and the feathers of it scattered all over the room. "Twilight," he hugged her and could feel her shaking against his chest. "W-what happened here last night?" he asked, feeling his demeanor slip from confident to concerned and scared for his friend's well-being; he found himself subtly checking her for signs of injury-why he was checking the brilliant scholar for something like that, he was terrified to think about-before she quelled his fears somewhat with an explanation. "I'm ok, Volare; I'm not hurt," she shook the temple of her forehead against his neck, trying no to jab him with her horn. "Not physically, anyway..." "What about in other ways?" he held her at hoof's length, but she avoided his blue-hued gaze for the moment. "Twi, please answer me. What bothered you bad that you practically murdered your pillow?" After another moment's hesitation in which Volare continued to hold her and look at her, she finally relented with a sigh. "Volare, there's something you need to know," she pulled away from him and trotted to the side of her bed, pulling the fallen sheets aside and searching around on the floor before finding the piece of paper she was searching for. "This came arrived from Princess Celestia yesterday," she held up the document. "Remember those tests I ran on you?" "Yeah, I do," the Pegasus nodded, feeling apprehension knotting in his stomach. Why would she be so upset over the results? "Twi...I'm not gonna fade away, like...the spell that gave me my body's not gonna wear out, is it?" he recalled that she'd mentioned a time limit for the spell that had given Rarity wings. "Oh no, nothing like that," Twilight shook her head and managed the tiniest of smiles, though it quickly faded back into the rest of her morose features. "However, the test results that Celestia sent back to me...they...well," she hesitated, knowing full-well that she'd only continue to hesitate because she truly didn't want to tell him what they revealed...and that only made her more self-conscious of the fact that she was being selfish about him...and that further served to increase her self-loathing because THAT sort of behavior was only endangering him further, to the point that Volare backed up a step or two. "Uh, Twi, I think you might wanna calm down," he offered as politely as he dared. "Your mane's kinda on fire." "Agh-sorry, sorry, sorry!" the Librarian quickly extinguished her smoldering mane and with a sigh, hung her head and levitated the letter over to him. "Just...read it...cuz I can't find the courage to say it, Volare." With a bit of a perturbed look, the Pegasus regarded the letter and began to read it before she interrupted him. "Wait, just...please read it out loud, that way I know I'm not just sugar-coating it for myself, ok?" With a nod of understanding, knowing how the mind could block out what it didn't want to see or read-although that really put him on edge-Volare began to read. My dearest and most faithful student, Twilight, I’ve received and reviewed your test results on Volare’s mind patterns, and I’ve come to the conclusion that, possibly because of the magically-created nature of his body, he seems to be channeling magic through his body somewhat like a Unicorn. Except, in his case since he’s a Pegasus, instead of channeling it along a single pathway like a Unicorn, it seems to be escaping his body at all angles. This would explain the fluctuation in the signals between the peaks and valleys of the data; I’ve marked them for you. They’re very faint, but their existence is undeniable. Since these fluctuations are magical, and therefore tied to willpower, it would explain why he has to focus his mind in order to power that equipment, otherwise, the fluctuations have no guidance, and exit his body willy-nilly. I believe that it is this quirk of his body that is allowing him to power those small pieces of equipment, something I’d actually like to witness in person someday, for it sounds quite fascinating. With time, he may even be able to control this quirk more effectively and use it to his advantage…in fact, if what Luna said about his encounter with Ray and Jill, as well as his description of his rescue of Trixie is accurate, he may already be channeling it, but only when he’s supremely focused, and still only involuntarily; in which case, if you can gather more data, I’d suggest honing that, for it seems to be quite the unique and useful skill in a pinch. As you well know, yourself, Luna, and I are very sensitive to magical fluctuations in all objects, which would explain why you’re being so strongly-effected by them (I confirmed this with my sister and she said she could feel something “extra” that shouldn’t have been there with Volare-IF Volare were a normal Pegasus…but he is not). Other ponies likely haven’t noticed much of these fluctuations, if at all, so it would be easy to mistake your feelings about these fluctuations as something else…especially if your research pointed to a single solution, in which case, it would again be easy to misinterpret that solution as the ONLY path you were expected to take. Twilight…I’m so terribly sorry. I know you wish it were something deeper, something more real, but there are too many pieces of the puzzle adding up for there to be much chance of any other possible solution. I had a feeling you’d have an experience like this…I just wish I were there in person to help more than just reply to letters. I’m sorry I ever teased you, even in jest, about your feelings pertaining to other stallions…please forgive me, Twilight. I should have done more to prepare you…I said it’s all a part of growing up, but…nopony deserves to go through what you’ve been going through. I can’t make you give up on these feelings, but I hope you see reason, and either distance yourself from Volare until his body stabilizes and he learns to control these fluctuations, or you need to create a counter spell (which I know you can do fairly easily), or help him to speed up his stabilization somehow; I’ll discuss the matter further with Luna to see what she did to stabilize herself once she returned from the imprisonment of Nightmare Moon. Either way, I don’t believe it’s to either of your benefits to live in close proximity for a while (though don’t read that as completely cutting off your friendship, for it’s important that a well-educated and level-headed Unicorn such as yourself remain his friend and guide in Equestria), much less enter a relationship that isn’t supported by anything other than circumstantial magical effects…I’ve seen it before and…it never ends well… You’ll find love one day Twilight, perhaps even with Volare, but until you KNOW for ceratin that relationship is built upon a more solid foundation than circumstance…just know that I’m only telling you these things because I care about your safety and wellbeing (as well as that of Volare). I further suggest that you explain these things to him as soon as possible, before the situation escalates into something either of you regrets. Again, I offer you my deepest apologies on the situation, Twilight…in truth, this has been one of the more difficult letters to write in sometime. I know you have parents, but, for the longest time, you’ve been like the daughter I never had…and no daughter should have to go through this alone. I wish only to embrace you…but we must both be strong now; for ourselves, for Volare, and for Equestria. I wish you both the best of luck. -Princess Celestia As Volare finished the letter, he was afraid to look up from the documents on the page that became more and more blurred as tears of a mixture of vindication, relief, hope, but strongest of all: fear for Twilight welled up in his eyes; if he felt like his heart was being squeezed in a vice, hers must have felt like it was being ripped to shreds...no wonder she took it out on the pillow. Finally, mercifully, the letter levitated away and laid down on an end table, forcing the Pegasus to look at Twilight. She'd been crying silently since after the first paragraph, and it showed on her cheeks and the wet spots on the floor. "I'm sorry Volare...I'm so sorry," unlike Trixie, who'd stared at the floor in her shame, the scholarly Unicorn forced herself to return his gaze as she spoke, as much of a punishment as it was a way for him to see the sincerity in her face. "Please don't hate me too much." She just knew he probably did... "Twi...hate you...what do you mean, 'hate you'?" the Pegasus' question caught the Unicorn off-guard and she stared at him in surprise. He slowly, gently, pulled her into an embrace, leaning his chin on her head next to her horn and simply holding her, feeling her return the hug with her hooves and the warm tingling of her magic running from her horn along his jawline as they stood there in silence for nearly a minute. "After everything you've done for me, Twi," he finally spoke up. "For me to hate you over anything, much less something like this...it'd make me the most selfish, despicable bastard on the face of the planet...I could never hate you, Twilight Sparkle." To say that his answer surprised her was a bit of an understatement; she'd been expecting him to be angry, to be raged at, had even prepared herself in case he physically struck her for all the pain she'd caused him. Instead, she got, well this! "But, I don't understand," she shook her head. "You're not mad at me? Not even disappointed?" "Well, if anything, I'm a little freaked out that my body is that damn unstable," he chuckled lightly. "Wait-I'm not hurting you right now, am I?" "N-no, I'm doing my best to control my emotions right now, believe it or not," she managed a weak laugh of her own. "I could probably figure out a counter spell in the future, but that's not the point," she looked up at him. "How could you put me before yourself when you're like this because of me in the first place?" "You shouldn't have to ask that, Twi," he nuzzled her cheek comfortingly. "For a number of reasons: one, I owe you so much I don't feel like I have the right to be angry at you. Two, because those emotions, whether real, imagined, on influenced by magic or what-have-you, are still your emotions; not mine...and now there's an explanation behind it all." He grasped her hoof and held it. "I already knew you weren't doing this to hurt me on purpose; this merely confirms my beliefs, Twilight," he smiled comfortingly. "But...I just...urgh, I'm so confused right now, Volare," the Unicorn shook her head and blew air through her lips in frustration as she tried to rationalize her feelings. "On the one hoof, it's obvious looking at the evidence that everything that I've done, all the conclusions I've jumped to, they've all been because my emotions went haywire." "Because of me-" Volare started to say before she jammed a hoof over his mouth. "No, no, don't you try to take any of the blame for this, mister," she booped his nose and resumed speaking. "The problem is that because of he nature of your body, I have to discount that emotions and feelings as nothing more than reactions to actions, and be professional and put them aside for both our sakes," she sighed and fixed him with a stare of barely-concealed internal pain. "Thing is...I dunno if I can...those feelings, they...just....ugh, I dunno," she leaned her forehead against his next and tried to put her thoughts to words, but they were just a jumble right now; maybe because she was too close to him and she was dropping her guard, or maybe because he...no, just no Twilight! You know they're not real now, so just drop it already! "Twilight," the Pegasus stroked her mane gently, which helped her to relax slightly. "I don't want to sound like a hypocrite here, but...I know I said I'm not comfortable with a relationship right now-for multiple reasons, none of which has anything to do with something you did wrong," he too growled slightly, trying to find the right words to say. "But...I hate seeing you sad like this, and I'd..." he paused and she looked back up at him. "I'd do what I can to make you happy...even if it meant"- "No, Volare," she shook her head and pressed her hoof against his mouth again. This was what she was afraid would happen; what Celestia was afraid of happening! "This is not about me right now; we've seen what my desires have done so far...it's time I start thinking objectively and focus on what's important right now: getting you back in the air." "Twi...I dunno if I like this, though," the Pegasus replied with a frown. "I just don't think it's right for you to have to treat your emotions objectively like that...it's just not right, Twi. What if some of those emotions you felt were genuine and not just the results of, well, me freaking you out?" "Time will only tell, Volare," Twilight smiled sadly. She could tell he didn't like this either, but whether it was because he possibly felt something for her as well, or if was just the simple setting aside of emotions for his sake that was bothering, she wasn't sure. "What did I say a while back: maybe one day if the stars align?" "Heh, yeah, I remember," he chuckled. "Well, just because they haven't aligned yet, doesn't mean they never will," her smile widened into a hopeful grin as she realized she was ok with this. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hoof and nodded in finality. "Besides, isn't it you that said flying is more important than all this relationship stuff anyways?" "Yeah, but not at the expense of you or anypony else," the pilot replied, obviously still unsure. To his surprise, the Unicorn hoofed him in the chest and smiled as brightly as she could muster. "C'mon, Volare, chin up," she nuzzled his face, her lips dancing dangerously close to his own...but she restrained herself. "If anything, this makes things simpler, and besides...I seriously am ok with this, so don't worry about me, ok?" "You're not just saying that?" Was she? "Nope, honest." For his sake, she would, though... "Ok, I guess...I guess if you're ok with this, then I am too," he smiled and hugged her strongly. "Just...lemme know if I'm messing up your head any; I'm not exactly fireproof, heh-heh." "Will do," Twilight threw him a small salute that did more for his acceptance of this new development than she realized. It reminded him of his task: flight...and with that reminder, he remembered his crazy dream. "Oh shoot, Twi, guess what!" "What?" "I had a dream last night," he grinned. "And it wasn't a nightmare either." "That's excellent, Volare!" Twilight beamed and fumbled about for a quill and scroll. "What was it about?" "I'll tell ya on the way, Twi," he headed for the door. "On the way to what?" she asked bemusedly. "To wake up a certain Unicorn who promised me a gift that I'll only get once I need it to fend off the cold of higher altitudes," he smirked. "Does that mean what I think it means?" the Librarian asked as they descended the stairs and she grabbed her scarf to fend off the cool dawn air. "Sure does," he grinned confidently and threw open the front door, rousing Spike with a blast of chilly air. "Brrr, and if it's this chilly down here, I'll bet it's freeze-your-ass-off cold up there," he laughed and rushed out the door. "Race ya to Carousel Boutique, Twilight!" The Unicorn quickly followed him in a clatter off hooves, shutting the door behind her and leaving the purple dragon confused as all get out. "Jeez, next time you wake me up like, the place had better be on fire or something," Spike muttered and rolled back over, quickly tumbling back into a dream he was having about propositioning Rarity...though why it involved a baked turkey covered in rubies was beyond him...oh well, if it failed, he'd at least have a tasty snack to drown his sorrows in...zzzz.... ---------------- Sweet Apple Acres...1 Hour Later... "Alright darling, this had better be spectacular," Rarity said as she fumbled with the curlers in her mane, doing her best to fix what the bedsheets had done to it with the short amount of time she'd been given, but it was mostly to no avail. Twilight and Volare had given her the barest of explanations and it had only been the urgings of Sweetie Belle that had truly roused her from her sleep at the realization that the blue and yellow Pegasus was going to try to fly. The fashionista quickly made her self semi-presentable and hurried out of the Boutique, barely grabbing the smallish package she'd wrapped Volare's finished gift within at her little sister's behest before the two siblings followed Twilight and Volare out of town. Pinkie saw them leaving and felt that something big was about to happen, but the sick Cake twins had kept her up all night and were still under the weather, so she made the decision to stay at Sugarcubs Corner for now. Fluttershy had joined them once she'd gotten word from Applejack that Volare was up and what he was going to do, knowing that she could help him in a pinch if something went wrong this time; Shae had followed her as well, leaving Iron Will snoring out on his favorite lawnchair despite the cold wind sweeping in from the Everfree Forest. Fluttershy wasn't the strongest of fliers, but she felt the chilly bite in the air as she opened her cottage windows, and knew it would make for icy eyes, and so she had grabbed the pair of flight goggles she'd been given the day of the Water Tornado months ago and offered them to Volare. He'd tried to refuse, but she insisted, saying he needed them more than she did right now. Scootaloo, Applebloom, Trixie, and Big Mac joined the growing group out front of the farm's picket fence, and after a few leery glances and grumblings about the blue magician's presence, Rarity finally shook her hoof in peace, albeit a bit grudgingly as she still remembered having her mane dyed green by Trixie in the past; they agreed to settle their differences later, but for now, they needed to support their friend Volare. And so, with Twilight holding the Flight Book, and his new set of flight goggles strapped to his forehead, Volare stood in front of them like a blue and yellow Patton, and addressed his friends, marching back and forth along the dew-soaked grass. "Guys, I wanna thank you for coming out so early today; lord knows ya didn't have to," he nodded to each of his friends in turn as he spoke, while Shae perched on the fence, preening herself and watching him out of the corner of her eye. "You've all done so much for me to get me to this point in my life; to help pick me up, some quite literally from the ashes," he smiled at a sightly-blushing Twilight, whom he'd told in detail of his dream; she'd said that perhaps it was his lack of a dream that was holding him back, and when he tried to argue that that was almost too metaphorical to be a valid reason, the Librarian had simply silenced him with a hoof to the mouth, and told him that everypony needs a dream, buck, inspiration, what-have-you. That dreams, according to Princess Luna, are the mind's way of releasing tension while the body rests, and so perhaps it was quite literally all in his head this entire time; both the problems as well as the solutions. With the final addition of the lessons in the Flight Book, Volare had finally made the transition of his flight experience from machines to wings, just as Dash said he'd need to. And Twilight bet that his inspiration was somewhere within that dream as well, but only he could know it, find it, and use it. "Others have inspired me to accept my situation here, toughened me up, or saved my life, or simply helped me loosen up and...and get back to where I needed to be as a person," he looked to the rest of his friends and beamed his thanks. "And now, hopefully, those efforts won't be in vain..." And with that, he turned to Twilight, who began calling out final flight checks that ranged from primary feather examination, to estimation of direction and speed of the wind, to the location of the sun to avoid accidental blindness, and even the relative moisture content in the air; all things he'd come to instinctively learn as time went on, but on the first try, it never hurt to have a little help. Fluttershy took off and hovered in midair, giving him a wave to indicate she was ready, with Rarity, Trixie, and Twilight all prepared to catch him with their magic if he fell. With all systems green, so to speak, Volare slipped the goggles over his eyes, shot his friends a final grin, and crouched down with his belly nearly to the ground, tensioning the muscles in his legs and raising his wings above his body for the power stroke that would launch him into the air like a Jump Jet (one of the things he'd come to realize about Pegasi in his dream), and something they were much better suited for than a long running take off, which was usually unnecessary. The Pegasus inhaled deeply, something else the Flight Book said aided in liftoff by providing the wings with the maximum amount of "fuel" possible, and closed his eyes, envisioning his task. Know yourself and your enemy...your task...to fly...know it, do it, achieve victory... Volare opened his eyes, nodded, and his legs uncoiled in an instant, shooting him straight up into the bright morning sky, whistling past Fluttershy nearly 25 feet into the air with a rush that tore a whoop from his lungs and nearly made him forget to flap his wings. Crap! That moment of hesitation nearly cost him as he tumbled from the air, Fluttershy swiftly grabbing him by a back hoof and holding him as he steadied himself with his own wings. "I'm good, I'm good," he waved off the three Unicorns below who'd prepared to lower him safely to the ground. He gave them a sheepish grin and righted himself, hovering about two meters off the ground and breathing deeply as Fluttershy had taught him, giving the yellow Pegasus a nod of thanks. "Ok, ok, let's see," he muttered, recalling what the book had said. "Thrust down into the air with your hooves to conserve energy while hovering...sounds simple enough," he focused and pushed down with his back hooves, envisioning the air as a springboard...and holy crap, did it work! The Pegasus nearly flipped a backflip with an experimental downwards kick, and he tumbled the rest of the way to the ground with a dull thud, drawing gasps of shock and alarm from his friends. But as they rushed to his side, they were surprised to find him laughing uproariously. "That. Was. AWESOME!" he chuckled and rose to his hooves, shaking the dew from his mane and wings and grinning like an absolute fool. "Thrust vectoring...holy hell, it's Thrust Vectoring," he laughed, giving a brief explanation of what he meant. He'd studied it back on Earth, but he'd never flown in a plane that could use it, so being able to do it now was a ridiculous thrill. He straightened his goggles and looked up to Fluttershy again. "Comin' back up, Flutters!" Volare kicked off the ground and shot straight back up with a huge grin that wrapped halfway around his head. "Let's fly, Shy!" he quipped, and together, he and his "personal trainer" began flying slow laps around the front lawn at no more than 10 feet of altitude or so, just in case. Everypony else settled down to watch the spectacle, everypony that is, except Twilight, who winced every time he went into a dive that he pulled out just before he hit the ground. Eventually, though, almost like a mother bird having to let her young leave the nest, the Unicorn swallowed her worries and calmed down, striking up a conversation with Trixie and Big Mac over what they intended to do with the Gilded Griffon, although she still kept an eye on the sky, ready to help Volare if he tumbled from the air. ------------ Fillydelphia...Noon... "Well, Zip, it's been fun," Rainbow Dash smiled and shook the delivery dragon's claw, surprising him from his reading of the morning paper, even though it was already lunchtime. He glanced up curiously from the headlines at the cyan Pegasus, who was holding out her delivery bag to him. "That's the end of my run here, pal. I'll look ya up if I'm up this way again." "Whatcha mean 'end of your run'?" the blue and orange dragon queried. "You're still on schedule to make tomorrow morning's delivery too," he jerked a thumb at the mailmare schedule where, sure enough, Rainbow Dash's name was penciled in for morning of the 16th too. "Aww, c'mon, are you serious?" the Pegasus threw two frustrated hooves towards the ceiling; she'd been looking forward to going home today and surprising Volare in the hospital, maybe even spending Sunday with him before heading back to Weather Duty. Celestia knew the poor guy could use probably use the company; Dash remembered how she nearly climbed the walls in boredom when she was last stuck there (before Twilight introduced her to Daring Do, that is). And that was another thing...she felt a growing need to speak with Twilight and the others she'd had her outburst in front of, for the more time she spent being shouted at and berated in Filly, the more she realized she missed her friends. And she had a bad feeling that three days of separation wasn't going to be enough to fix what she broke. She hated to admit it, but...she needed to swallow her pride and apologize...besides, whoever the hay Volare spent his life with wasn't her business anyways and she had no right to get involved with- Whoa, what'd she just say?! Maybe she was wrong about him and Twi- Ok, ok, knock that off, Dash! Jeez, can't believe I wish my conscience was back to talk with...yeah, I'm losing my mind. The Pegasus shook the thought away and snatched the mail bag back from Zip, who was giving her a helpless smile. "Trust me Dash, I didn't make the schedule, but I'll make sure you get a lighter load tomorrow morning so you can get home earlier; I can tell you don't like Filly much." "Meh, it's not your fault, Zip," she waved a dismissive hoof and forced a smile at the dragon who'd been the closest thing to a friend she'd had in the city. "I'll just...go back to the hotel or something....bleh." She wasn't looking forward to takeout again. "You got food there, Dash?" Zipscale asked as she reached the door. She looked back to see him patting a small cardboard box. "I got some beef here for myself, but there's broccoli and other greens in here I can fire roast for ya," he grinned toothily. "...you know what," the Pegasus pushed the door shut again and trotted back to his writing desk with a rose-colored eye fixed on the box. "I guess I'll stay a little longer...never had roasted veggies before..." Sorry Volare, but your bear-hug and hoof noogies are gonna have to wait...and Twi...please don't think I'm avoiding you guys...please... ------------------- Sweet Apple Acres...Several Hours Later... Volare wasn't sure what hurt worse at the moment: his pride or his flank...he was leaning towards the latter but the former was definitely close behind. For the past few hours, he'd been able to execute the basic maneuvers fairly well, but when it came to the more complex ones, namely the Minimum Radius Turn, which Typhoon called the Tornado Turn as it seemed to suck the life right out of you due to the G-Forces it generated, he kept coming close to blacking out whenever he reached the apex of the turn, and more than once, Fluttershy and Twilight had to catch him and lower him back to the ground, though twice now it had happened so close to the ground that all they could do was watch helplessly as he bounced and tumbled through the long yellowing grass of the fields, disappearing in the waving golden sea of blades. But both times, he'd popped right back up, albeit achingly, refusing to quit. He may not have realized it as he took to the sky again, but there was something else nearby that was aching worse than either his flank or his pride: and that something thudded loudly within the chest of Twilight Sparkle every time he hit the ground or blacked out. It was then that she noticed something else: every time he entered a maneuver, she saw a flash of blue beneath the flight goggles as his eyes glanced towards her before he started the turn..and she knew then that Dash had truly been right: she was holding him back somehow...and it showed every time he lost control, though he claimed that he was at least getting better at crashing gracefully. It was during a short break for snacks and beverages that Grannysmith, having noticed the pain on the Unicorn's face, decided it was time to say something. "Ahem, boy can't fly as good as ya thought Ah take it?" she observed as she hoofed a mug of ice cold applejuice to Twilight. The Librarian shook her head and groaned helplessly in response. "Ah see how ya hurt when he falls, child...perhaps it's time ya'll gave him a talkin' to ta see what's still botherin' him, eh?" "Y-yeah, I guess so," she nodded and levitated her mug plus another one over her head and trotted towards Volare, who was sitting up against the barn in the front yard, allowing Fluttershy to work on his sore left wing, which he'd landed awkwardly on in the previous fall. "How is he, Fluttershy?" "Oh, he's...fine," the yellow Pegasus replied hesitantly, not wanting to wound Volare's pride any further. Instead, she brushed Volare's spiky mane with a hoof and trotted away to let the two speak, pausing long enough to whisper her true feelings into Twilight's ear. "He's hanging onto something...I dunno what, but it's holding him back and making him so tense up there that he can't control himself. I'm afraid if he doesn't loosen up soon, he'll be back in the hospital." And with that, she trotted away to join the CMC, who were huddled around Trixie and asking her all manner of questions regarding magic, cutie marks, and if she really ate pinecones to survive in the woods. Twilight sat down next to Volare who cracked a blue eye and a smile at her as she offered him the second mug of applejuice. "How ya holding up, Volare," she smiled encouragingly as he took the mug and downed it in a single go, smacking his lips and sighing afterwards as he sat the mug down. "Thirsty?" "Yeah, I was; thanks," he smirked and leaned his head back against the sun-warm barn wall and closed his eyes again. "This is tough, ya know?" "Maybe you should call it a day, then," Twilight offered, but he shook his head vehemently. "No can do, Twi...Dash is coming home tomorrow, and I've got a plan to...well...let's just say she'll have less reason to mess with me for being a weak flier, heh-heh," he looked back at the Unicorn. "That and if I can get this stuff right, it'll prove that you're not holding me back...that we're not together, ya know? Then she'll have to apologize for what she did back in the hospital and-" "Is that all this is about, Volare?" Twilight cut him off with a stern look. "It's not your business to fix the problems she and I have." "But that's the thing, Twi, I am the problem," he leaned up as he spoke. "And I'm gonna do what I can to fix it." "By risking your life doing something stupid, just to prove I'm not coddling and sheltering you, right?" the Unicorn shook her head in mild disappointment. "I appreciate the sentiment and I can see the dim logic in it, but...you don't have to do anything like this, Volare...nothing this stupid anyway." "And what makes you think it's stupid?" he cocked an eyebrow. "Doing something stupid would mean me doing something I don't understand; but Twi," he flexed his wings. "This I understand now." "Then how come you keep falling?" she asked bluntly. But when he didn't answer, she spoke again. "You remember how we spoke about a human called Albert Einstein? Well, wasn't it him that said: 'Insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results?' Isn't that what you're doing, Volare?" she looked down at her hooves and sniffed lightly. "Wouldn't you call that stupid?" "I'm sorry Twi," the Pegasus offered reflexively, snorting in frustration and smacking the ground with a hoof. "I just don't know why the hell I'm this close and I just can't get it! What the hell is holding me back?!" The two ponies sat there in silence for a moment before Twilight spoke again. "Why do you keep looking at me, Volare?" "Huh?" he glanced up at her in bemusement, but she simply stared at his flight goggles, or the grass...anything but his face as she spoke. "Everytime you try a maneuver, I see you looking at me," she explained with a worried frown. "Why?" "I dunno, I just"- "Are you still seeking approval?" she cut him off and chewed her bottom lip for a moment; she knew she was beating around the bush but she wanted to make sure. "Are you worried you'll make a mistake and I'll get on your case about it?" "No, I don't think it's that..." he shrugged. "Then what is it?" she placed a hoof over his and finally allowed her gaze to alight on his face, which was scrunched in uncertainty and worry. "I think...it might have to do with what we talked about earlier," he scratched his mane to buy a moment or two before finally just saying it. "About the situation between us..." "Ah, I see," she nodded in understanding; she had a feeling it might have been that. "Still kinda bothered by it?" "'Kinda's' putting it mildly," he shut his eyes and thunked the back of his head against the barn wall. "Why're you still bothered by it?" she rubbed his hoof. "I'm ok with it and"- "For some reason, I just don't believe that, Twi," he spoke without opening his eyes. He felt her hoof press down on his, but she held her tongue as she waited for an explanation. "I just don't feel right with you putting aside your emotions like that for me...I just know I'm hurting you somehow because you can't have me," he turned his hoof over and grasped hers with it. "And I don't wanna hurt you, Twi...you've been too good to me and...here I am just...gawd, I'm still a mess," he squeezed his eyes tighter and bit his bottom lip hard, trying to stay strong in front of her, after all, isn't that what a good soldier did; stayed strong in front of a lady? Volare didn't feel her hoof leave his but he felt her body lean up over his, and he felt her breath upon his face, and when he opened his eyes he found her own violet orbs staring deeply into his own eyes, while her muzzle was nearly gracing his as well. His heartbeat instantly quickened and he reflexively recoiled back, whacking the back of his head against the barn. But he ignored the sting of pain, his only focus the lavender face of his friend. "Volare," Twilight softly breathed his name, her lips nearly touching his own as she did so. He wasn't sure what she was about to do, but he almost didn't care...he just wanted her to not hurt on his account and- "Does this make you apprehensive?" her question cut through the fog of his mind, and he barely managed a nod in response. "Cuz this is what'll happen and more if I can't let you go...but I can't let you go if you don't meet me halfway and do the same, ok? I'll only hold you back until we both let go...so just stop worrying if I'll land safely when we do, ok? I'll be fine," she smiled and moved her face past his and leaned her chin on his shoulder, hugging him tightly. "I promise." Volare had no idea what to say. He wanted her to be happy, and he knew there was only one way to do that, but he had his own moral issues to grapple with if he did that and...not to mention he knew her from a TV show, for crying out loud! While she had to work to draw information out of him, he already knew alot about her...it made him feel like a deceptive cheater, like he'd been given insider information to exploit that Twi could never have...it wasn't fair. It would never be fair...never a stable and even relationship, especially if his body was screwing her emotions up all over the place! But then how could he fix this? How, dammit, how?! "Twi, I just...don't want you to hurt because of me," he repeated, and to his surprise, she hoofed him lightly in the chest and leaned back to stare at him rather sternly. "Volare...you wanna know what hurts the most right now?" she tried to keep her voice strong, but even Volare could tell it was nearly about to crack. "It’s you crashing again...and again, and again, and again all because you’re worried about me." She hoofed him again, more firmly this time and left her hoof on his shoulder. "So stop worrying about me and start worrying about yourself, cuz you getting hurt on my account is killing me inside, Volare." That did it; her voice cracked and the sobs she'd been holding back all day finally burst forth, and she buried her face in his neck, holding him tightly as she continued to speak through tears that were ripping Volare's heartstrings to pieces. "That’s what’s h-hurting me the most. Not the f-fact that I can’t have you as a c-coltfriend but because I may not have you alive at this rate. It agonizes me that you’re getting hurt on my account more than the little sting that comes from knowing I can’t have you," she smiled in acceptance through her tears. "I can handle a little sting." "But Twi, I owe you so much," he protested weakly, but she simply shook her head and leaned her forehead against his lips, simultaneously silencing him as well as wishing that her forehead and lips could trade places so she could kiss him in grateful appreciation...does that sound weird? she thought for an instant and mentally chalked it up to her mental defenses beginning to crumble. She had to end this quick before she did something they both would regret...again. "Not your life you don't...not your life," she hugged him again and sighed. "So please...just promise me you'll meet me halfway here...let me go...cuz while you may be sad about a little sting for me," she wiped her nose with a hoof to keep it from dripping on his shoulder. "I'll hurt more than you can imagine if you die because I'm being nothing but an obstacle in your way. Please..." she leaned back and looked at him to see tears wavering in his own eyes. "Don't worry about me...I won't hate you for it...just...let me go," she spoke with more finality than she could recall in some time, and her pleading tone seemed to finally break through as she wiped the water from Volare's eyes with the fringe of her mane and simply smiled to let him know she was ok. Stinging, sore, but truly ok. "Alright," he bowed his head and conceded defeat. "I'll let you go...but I won't let you fall," he felt the warm fur of her cheek lay up against his own, and they simply sat there for a long moment, soaking up the sun while digesting and accepting the crossroads they'd just passed before Twilight broke the silence. "You found your buck yet? If so, what is it?" he looked at her curiously; apparently she either knew of the term beforehand or had been speaking to the Apple family. Either way, she knew and there wouldn't be any more god-awful-awkward misunderstandings because of it-yeah, cuz we really need one of those right now... "What got you inspired, cuz Celestia knows it's not me," she chuckled lightly though her heart ached a bit to say it...it was getting easier the more she said it though. "How do you know?" he asked wistfully. "Cuz if it was me, you wouldn't be crashing," she said plainly and pulled him to his hooves. "Cuz Dash was right: I'm only holding you back and that's endangering us both." And because if I was your buck, you’d have come here with my cutie mark on your jacket instead of Dash’s...whatever omen that meant... "True…heh, she does kinda light the competitive fires in me, eh?” she remembered Volare saying. Indeed she does...and I just...don't. Twilight shook off the thoughts and snorted, grabbing Volare's flight goggles as she did so. "So you get up there, and you do what you gotta do, but don't you dare let me hold you back," her commanded, her violet eyes full of fierce vigor, pulling her best Fluttershy Stare impersonation. "You got that?" "Yes ma'am," Volare smiled and saluted with a wing. "Good," Twilight slipped the goggles onto his forehead and gave him one last hug before she picked up the mugs to return them to Grannysmith. But as they rounded the corner of the barn, they were confronted by the three wide-eyed fillies of the CMC plus Trixie, who all looked like they were in cahoots with each other by the smiles on their faces. "Uh-oh, I'm not liking this, Twi," Volare said melodramatically, causing the lavender Unicorn to giggle behind her hoof as Scootaloo and Trixie stepped forward. "Ok bro, we think we've got an idea of how to help ya," his sister grinned proudly and turned to Trixie. "Tell him, Trix." "Huh, oh-ahem," the magician composed herself; she thought Scootaloo was the brains of this operation, oh well... "Ok, we saw how you're having a hard time up there and we were wondering if you've found your buck like Grannysmith talked about yet." "Who me? Having a hard time? Nah-ow," Volare waved his left wing and grimaced as he stretched it in a particularly sore direction. "Ok, maybe a little bit," he admitted at the skeptical looks from the five ponies, receiving a hoof of rebuke in the left shoulder from his sister. "And no, I haven't found it yet." "Oh, good," Sweetie Belle squeaked. "I mean, I'm not saying I'm glad you're getting hurt, um...I don't mean it like that-uh..." "What she means ta say is since ya ain't got your buck yet, it means our idea's not a waste of time," she nodded to Scootaloo, who took off for the farm house on her scooter "Where's she going?" Twilight asked. "To retrieve part of our plan," Trixie smiled slyly, and within minutes, Scootaloo returned carrying Volare's saddlebag, which she opened up and blocked the opening of, sharing a wink with the magician and the CMC before pulling out the speaker box and the ear buds, holding them out in her hoof to her confused brother. "Volare, do you remember when I was...well, less of my ideal self the other night, and you played that music for Octavia when she fought me?" "Yeah, I do," the pilot nodded, having no idea what they had planned. "When you played it for her, it was like she hit a different level of intensity, and she, an Earth Pony, fought me to a near draw using nothing but her cello bows," Trixie winced as she recalled the sting of one of the bows slashing down on her foreleg like a dull, whippy blade. "She went from demure musician to inspired fighter in a matter of moments, all because that music was what she passionate about...is that how you put it, Scootaloo?" "Yeah, pretty much," she reached her hoof out and bumped it against Trixie's, who stared at it for a moment before returning the filly's infectious smile and turning back to Volare. "Anyway, the point is, we were thinking that since you like playing music so much that maybe if you played some while flying, it would, well...be your buck!" the magician declared but was met only by a skeptical chuckle and headshake by Volare. "Jeez, no offense you guys, but that sounds like a bad movie plot," he rolled his eyes and flexed his wings, preparing to take off again. "That's just dumb." "Dumb to whom?" Trixie's question stopped him in his tracks. "Did you not say that you played music in your jet while flying, or was that simply an embellishment by your sister?" she fondly mussed the Pegasus' filly's fuchsia mane. "Well, yeah, I did," the pilot agreed. This is nuts. "Why?" "Because it..." his eyes widened in realization. This is crazy. "...it inspired me." "Then let's not rest until we've exhausted all options!" Rarity pumped a hoof, having trotted over to hear the conversation. Her outburst right behind Trixie sent the blue magician jumping into Twilight's hooves in alarm, and she gave her former rival a sheepish grin that had everypony laughing uproariously for a good moment before Volare shook his head incredulously. "I still think it's dumb," he muttered doubtfully before Trixie trotted over and swatted him on the head with her hat. "Dumb to whom!? I've seen what that music of yours can do first-hoof; hell, I was on the receiving end of it," she plunked her hat back on her head and practically glared at Volare in irritation; nopony there would have expected Trixie to be so passionate about something other than herself, and her actions took them all off-guard. "Didn't you listen to what Grannysmith said to me last night: as long as your buck inspires you, who cares what anypony else thinks of it?" "Wow, that's pretty deep, Trixie," Twilight patted the near-fuming mare on the shoulder, and at her touch she immediately calmed down a few notches. "Sorry, just...it's been a long time since I've learned something and I guess I just got a little carried away when somepony acted as if it weren't real; implying I was lied to and duped," the magician apologized. "I never said it wasn't real," Volare protested. "Then you've accepted it?" Trixie asked. "If you've accepted it as fact, then stop trying to fight it, and use it!" Her statement stunned Twilight. That was one of the lessons Celestia had taught at the School years ago! How could she know it word for word unless she... "Alright, alright, I'll give it a try," Volare patted the air with his wing, popping an earbud in and turning the speakerbox dial to 8. Do or do not...there is no try Shut up, Yoda! "What should I play, though," he muttered, and before he could make his decision, Twilight trotted up to him and leaned in close to his ear. "Volare, listen to me...whatever it might be that inspired you in the past, do it here-think of it-again, no matter what it might be...or who, be it human or otherwise." His left eye snapped to its corner to stare at her as she continued. "I don't care if I'm not your buck, Volare...I don't care if it's somepony else...even if it's somepony whose cutie mark you wore as a patch inside of your flight jacket the day you came here." He stiffened as she said this, his eye full of fear that she assuaged with a quick nuzzle of his cheek. "I don't know how or why, but that doesn't matter right now...if she-or something about her-is your buck...then you take it... and you fly your flank off," her lips brushed lightly beneath his ear and she contrasted that with a quick hard thump of her hoof to his chest that half-knocked the wind out of him. Damn, guess there's still that little order of business to tend to...bet she hates me now... But the Unicorn merely grinned bashfully as if she didn't know her own strength, and then trotted back to the ponies who were all arrayed on the lawn, awaiting their friend to try this new idea out. It was then that the Pegasus knew she was right...he loved the heck out of Twilight as a friend, but she was right: she wasn't his buck. No, that honor fell to the Pegasus that had not only saved his life from his jet crash, and all the times after...but she'd also saved him before they'd ever personally met...it may have only been circumstantial, like Twilight's emotions for him, but it was still real. Without her...he'd have never made it out of the dark canyon in his life that he'd tumbled into...he'd be more than dead...he'd have been damned... The wind suddenly shifted and swirled around Volare's head, whisking his short yellow mane this way and that just as it did the ocean of golden grass that spread out far to the east. Beyond those brassy waves lay the remainder of the storm front clouds piling up and curling about the southern edge of the base of Canterlot Mountain like an eddy in a stream. The water still being spewed and kicked up by the storm caught the rays of the late afternoon sun and ignited a luminous rainbow that spread from north to south as far as the eye could see. It was quite the spectacular sight to be sure, and it was then that Volare was 100% positive...he knew his buck...and soon, she'd truly know him. "No, not try," the Pegasus muttered as he slapped the flight goggles over his head and popped the earbuds in and focusing his mind on the memories of one song in particular...a bottle of pills...the tossing of a laptop...the flicker of a song...and then...a rainbow in the darkness...it was the song that made him a brony...the song that gave him hope...the song that gave him Rainbow Dash after she'd saved him from himself...on a second thought, he reached back and cranked the volume knob to 11 and pointed it out towards the waves of grass. He wasn't sure what the range of these earbuds were, but he was about to find out! "Do...." he felt a tear of joy leak from his eye as the intro faded in, and he crouched low to the ground, breathed deeply...and then it hit him why he wasn't making it through the turns without blacking out; the exact same thing that he didn't do that had brought him to this planet in the first place-a lesson that he never learned until now...and thus it all came full-circle. It's a G-Suit...my god, this body IS a G-Suit! It all makes sense now!!!! As the lead guitar crashed in, he quite literally exploded into the sky like a whistling blue and yellow rocket! The shouts of encouragement from ground level quickly faded behind him as he climbed, kicking backwards off the air with every power stroke of his wings in time with the pounding drums as the wind whipped through his mane and tail and toothy grin. But he felt it all-he felt free and alive and oh my god, I'm doing it! I'm doing it! I'm doing it-I'm flying for real!!! his mind shouted. Higher and higher he climbed-100 feet-500 feet-1000-2000-3000-5000!!! Faster! Faster!! Faster!!! There was no way to truly describe the joy that rippled through him as he finally opened in his eyes and began an upward version of a Defensive Spiral to test his wings and body at a higher rate of speed than he had earlier, and so far, so good. He continued to climb throughout the first guitar riff, alternating the banking of his wings to "evenly wear them," his heart rising in rate and sheer joy with each stroke of his wings, thankful for Fluttershy's goggles or else he'd surely have been blinded by the wind that streamed along his body like an icy river-but it couldn't come close to extinguishing the exhilarating inferno that had been ignited in his spirit! Jeez, I can hear Vinyl's speaker all the way up here-that sucker is powerful! He was glad he'd taken the moment to point it towards the fields rather than at the orchard-he doubted the Apple Family needed that much applesauce! This went on for nearly a full 30 seconds before he broke through the grey cloud base and beheld the golden sun shining warmly upon him. He quickly turned over on his side, inhaled deeply, and began the minimum radius turn at cloud level. He felt his vision beginning to darken, but he clenched his chest muscles as he thrusted backwards with his wings, kicking out with his legs to tighten the turn even faster. He felt the G-Forces on his wings trying to yank them from his body, but he clenched his teeth, growled under his breath, and pushed it further and harder, his chest tightening as if he were in the workout of his life! But his theory worked, and the combination of muscles and inhaled air kept the blood from flowing out of his brain and blacking him out again. Before he realized it, he was through the turn and the wind from had carved a ring through the cloud cover, the solid section of which remained like a giant bullseye. Volare exhaled loudly and grinned; he knew what to do. He turned his nose skyward and bucked off the clouds, springing him high in the air before he unfolded his wings and swept them backwards, climbing higher and higher until he swore he was nearly level with the sun and he could feel the difference in how thin the air was compared to ground level. Brrr, Rarity was right-he would need whatever the heck her gift was up here! He looked to either side to see ice crystals forming along the leading edges of his wings, and he knew that could be trouble if they weighed them down. But no matter, he was high enough now. Hovering in mid-air and trying to force as much warm blood as he could through his wings-which he'd need again very soon-Volare stared down at the ring in the cloud, folded up his warmed wings, and dropped like a dart as the second verse of the song began. "Holy balefire, what's he doing!?" Twilight cried as the pilot smashed through the cloud base, trailing condensation behind him like wispy grey banners that joined the contrails forming at the tips of his wings and hooves as he dove. She prepared herself to catch him with a spell, but he was diving too fast to give her more than one shot at it-and even then, she might not hit him with it! But Fluttershy held her back with a hoof and a demure smile. "Fluttershy, what're you?!"- "Don't distract him, Twilight," she nodded towards the plummeting stallion. "He's facing his fears." As she said this, Volare opened his eyes, beholding the golden-red apple orchard spreading out before him, just like before. Unlike before, it no longer had the appearance of a pool of blood in the sunlight, but just...apples. With a final prayer, Volare suddenly flared his wings and the hair along his body like miniature air-brakes before kicking downwards with all four hooves like the four thrust nozzles of a Harrier Jet. A Rolls-Royce Pegasus Engine, some strange part of his psyche told him as his dive flattened out and he opened his wings fully. Funny how things turn out... But there wasn't time to think, he realized as he looked up, for his dive took him a little too close to the ground, and as he shot over his friends on the front lawn and nearly collided with Shae on the fence, he just barely managed to hear Applejack bark out a warning about the apple trees...the small forest of an orchard that rose up to block his path. Oh shit. There wasn't time to brake. Oh shit! There wasn't time to pull up! Oh holy shit!! There was only time to...realize that things weren't speeding up, but slowing down. Volare's vision shrank to a narrow field of light within which he could see every single tree, limb, apple, twig, and leaf in his path. Whoa...it's just like with Trixie...just like back on the river...ride it flyboy, ride it! The Pegasus grinned as he saw the path in his mind's eye. The first tree loomed in front of him and he deftly folded his wings, shooting through a gap in the limbs before flat-rolling to squeeze between two out-reaching branches of another one. He bucked off the air and zigged left to avoid a large contingent of hanging apples that nearly took his head off, following that with another roll that zagged him right and below a massive limb that could have been a tree in its own right! The trees finally began to thin out as he neared the farm house, and the pilot flared his wings again to bleed air speed as his vision lightened and he became more aware of things other than directly in front of him. It was at that point that he realized although he'd been aware of the trees he was flying through, he actually saw nothing outside of that narrow field of vision. Somehow, he'd felt them with his body! Wow...just wow! The Pegasus banked around a tree, the wake from his wings causing the loose leaves to scatter into the autumn air, and he finally rose up above the treeline to the relieved cheers of his friends, who had thought he'd surely crashed into or impaled himself on an apple tree. He climbed to the roof of the barn, grabbing the shaft of the weathervane in his hoof, pivoting around it, and launching himself back over the trees towards his friends. Applejack stopped halfway between the group and the trees she'd been sprinting into to save him and whooped loud and long, rearing up and tossing her hat which he deftly caught with a hoof, perched it jauntily on his head for a moment, and then tossed it back down to her. He gave his friends a quick salute in midair and suddenly felt a presence at his right wing tip. He turned to see Shae had flown from her perch and risen to his altitude, her fierce golden eyes contrasting heavily with her black and white plumage as she waggled her wings at him and cheereeked as if to say: well, it's about time you got up here! "Yeah, it really is about time, huh?" Volare grinned in reply and began a slow, banking turn over the fields to the east, keeping pace with the music which diverged into a slower mixture of acoustic guitar and violin. The pair of aviators were quickly joined by Fluttershy, who gave him a proud smile of approval. "Did I learn well, Miyagi?" "Oh yes, very well...uh-grasshoppah," she smirked bashfully as she quoted what he'd often muttered under his breath during their training, causing him to exchange a high-wing with her in mid-air, though he wasn't quite bold enough to try that with Shae; he still valued his eyeballs after all. Together, the trio climbed and dove gracefully in a V-Pattern, sometimes with Shae flying higher than the rest, sometimes Fluttershy, but all the while Volare remained at the center of the pattern. After several moments of this, Volare nodded back towards the group of ponies, none of which had even thought of sitting down since he'd began, and Fluttershy acknowledged him with a nod of her own; Shae merely followed. The yellow Pegasus and the osprey landed first and Volare decided to try one last maneuver as the music faded away. He pitched his body up as if rearing onto his rear hooves, thrusting downwards with them and giving his wings the lightest stroke every few moments as he approached. The resulting maneuver was as close as he could come visually to the Section High Alpha, one of his favorite tricks to practice in his jet. But whereas the move made a jet appear to levitate, it made his Pegasus body appear to dance upon the air as he drifted down, finally landing with a huge grin and a quick trot that promptly carried him forward into a low dip in the ground, tripping him up and rolling him forward to land unceremoniously on his blue flank in a light daze. He flopped backwards onto his back and sighed at the grey sky...I take it back; THAT was awesome. Nice job, flyboy, he heard a tomboyish voice in his head. Now show me whatcha can really do... "Will do, Dashie...will do," he mumbled as he felt a weight climb onto his belly and clamor up his chest. He looked up into two huge purple eyes and an equally huge grin plastered all over the orange face of Scootaloo. "Oh my gosh bro, that was so sweet!" she shouted, giving involuntarily hopping up and down and knocking the wind out of her brother. "Oof-oof-glad ya-ow-thank so Scoots," he chuckled and picked her up with his hooves, holding her up as she posed as if flying above him as everypony else galloped over to him. "I loved the part where you heading towards those trees like-whooosh! And then we were all: oh no, he's gonna die!" she smirked up at Rarity, who'd hidden her face behind a hoof at the time and was now rolling her eyes behind Scootaloo-and holding a smallish flat box with her magic. "But then you were-whoooom, see ya!-and shot outta there!" Volare chuckled and let her down before rolling to his hooves. It was quite obvious that Rarity wanted to speak with him, but he held up a wing as if to say one moment, and located Twilight towards the back of the group. "Heya," she said, her violet eyes sparkling and her smile wide and bright. "Heya yourself," Volare replied breathlessly, flipping his goggles up onto his head and pulling the Librarian into a huge hug. "Thanks for believing in me, Twi," he whispered. "No, no, thanks for believing in yourself," she booped him on the nose and giggled. "Not gonna lie though; you scared me half to death when you did that dive." "Eh-heh, yeah, I was just trying to"- "I know, Fluttershy explained it to me," she preempted him. "No need to apologize cuz, holy hay, I think you know what you're doing now." "Thanks, Twi," Volare gave his attention to Rarity who politely cleared her throat and levitated the smallish white box over in front of him. "Volare, ever since you told me of the fashion styles of Earth pilots, I had this little niggling idea in the back of my mind that just wouldn't leave me alone. So, I decided to try my hoof at something a little bit different for you," she proceeded to open the box, dramatically lifting the lid to reveal a white silk aviator scarf neatly bundled in the box. "I'm sorry it took me so long to complete; as with every gift I give, I would like it to have a personal connection to the one I give it to. It too me so long because that silk you see shining on the scarf is silk pulled from Earth." Everypony gaped in awe as she lifted the scarf from the box, its shiny white threads gleaming in the sunlight as it wafted in the breeze. "It took me a dreadful amount of time to find enough to make it." "Wow, Rarity," the pilot was near-speechless as she wrapped it once around his neck, swatting his hoof away as he tried to touch it while she arranged it. "You shouldn't have." "And why not?" she squinted an eye at him. "I am the Element Holder of Generosity; giving is what I do, darling." She leaned up and whispered. "And with as much work as I put into this, if you don't want it as a scarf...well...silk is very strong and it would likely make a very nice hang-mare's noose," she winked suggestively and he immediately stopped resisting as she made a final adjustment and stood back to admire her work. "Now even Rainbow would say you look quite dashing!" she giggled at her witty little quip. "Still, I just...wow," he ran a hoof along the silken threads in admiration. It was perfect. "Thank you Rarity...hey, what's this?" his hoof reached the ends of the scarf. On one end was a small blue patch that looked somehow familiar, and hanging on the other end were three crimson tassels. "These your hoof-work, Rarity?" "Oh no, actually, you can have these three to thank for that," the Unicorn nodded towards the CMC, who stepped forward wearing huge grins. "Believe me, they insisted on it," she said with a tone that indicated it certainly was not in her original plans. "Yeah, check it out," Scootaloo pointed at the tassels. "Remember that story of the Red Baron you told me; how you kinda liked him and how he had red on his scarf and planes. Well, there they are!" she grinned, and Volare's heart swelled in adoration of the thoughtfulness of the little filly. Sweetie Belle then grasped the other end of the scarf, turning it over so he could see the blue and yellow shape sewn into the fabric. "And since you're part of the CMC, we added this here for you," the Unicorn filly ran a hoof over the patch, which displayed the yellow silhouette of a pony wearing a cape against a blue background. Wait, was that- "It's tha' Cutie Mark Crusaders emblem," Applebloom beamed, as did her two friends. "Ah know it's kinda late ta say welcome to tha group, but now it's sorta official." "Whatcha think, bro?" Scootaloo smiled as Volare looked up from the generous gift he'd been given from Rarity and the CMC. "I think it's perfect," he grinned thankfully and wrapped the three fillies in a hug, before gracefully bowing to Rarity. "And thank you, ma'am." "Oh, pish, it was nothing, darling-oh, but don't let drag it on the ground!" she magically tweaked his ear and caused everypony to laugh as he stood as tall as he could and threw her the crispest salute he could muster. "Yes ma'am!" he barked before Rarity spoke above the dull roar of laughter. "So what's the next step in your life Volare, now that you know how to fly and all?" the fashionista queried. "Getting a job, settling down in a home...finding a mare-friend perhaps?" she gave him a suggestive smirk. "Eh-heh, actually, I've got I've got a plan to fix this situation, before I do anything else," he said aloud, gaining everypony's attention. "What situation?" Trixie spoke up from next to Big Mac. "Ah, right, Trixie doesn't know what you guys know about what happened in the hospital between Dash and Twilight," he replied to the magician. "Did Dash hurt you, Twilight?" the blue Unicorn asked in alarm, surprising the Librarian with the amount of charity she was exhibiting. I guess if being a Pegasus doesn't work out, Volare could try being a guidance counselor or something... "Oh, no, I'm ok-I mean, at the time it was more embarrassing than anything, but..." as Volare stored the sound equipment, she quickly recounted the events from her point of view, leading to a few small gasps from some, solemn nods from others, and a downright angry response from Trixie. "But she-how could she-Rainbow Dash, I swear," the magician sputtered angrily, looking left and right as if searching for the prismatic pony. "Where is she now?" "Whoa, whoa, calm down, Trixie, it's ok," Twilight patted the incensed Unicorn with a hoof. "I'm just as much to blame for what happened, plus Dash is our friend." "Yes, but you are also my friends...right?" she paused hesitantly; perhaps she'd gone too far. But Scootaloo quickly hopped up next to her and hoofed her in the shoulder with a mischievous grin. "Duh, 'course you are, Trix. What else would we call ya?" Any sort of dislike anypony there might have had at Trixie's modest, grateful smile at having a friend simply evaporated, and one by one, each pony there trotted up and gave Trixie either a hoof-shake in Rarity's case, or a friendly embrace in the CMC's case, or a simple hoof to the shoulder in Applejack's case. It wasn't uber-close-friend stuff, but it was certainly a good start. "Thank you...thank you all," Trixie suppressed a sniffle and smiled. "It's good to have friends," she stated plainly. And she was right! "Now then...about this Rainbow Dash situation..." "Right, right," Twilight nodded and got back on track. "Volare and I had kinda joked about a plan back when he was in the hospital to kinda teach her a lesson in the same vein as what we used the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well for." "The who?" Trixie cocked her head, drawing a smattering of laughter and the friendly hoof of a chuckling Applejack tossed around her shoulder. "Sugarcube, ya'll got a heap ta catch up on." "Heh-heh, yes, seems I do, but let's stop getting off track," the magician waved a hoof back towards Twilight. "What was the plan?" "Well, we never really discussed the specifics, did we Volare?" she looked to the Pegasus for answers, but he shrugged. "Not that I recall...but here we are and I can fly now, so that's definitely on the way towards what I had in mind," he smirked slyly. "Basically, we said that actions speak louder than words for Dash, so I figured if we could do something that catches her by surprise, it'd make a bigger impact on her." "What's the surprise?" Fluttershy asked. "Heh...ol' Dashie thinks I'm still in the hospital according to the letter she sent Spike the other day," Volare chuckled at the requests that the contents of the letter be kept secret. "So at first I thought just me being out of there when she comes back-tomorrow was it? Yeah, tomorrow-would be a big enough surprise on its own. But now...rather than bunting, we can swing for the fences!" "...Come again, sugarcube?" Applejack scratched her head. "Urgh, nevermind," Volare shook his head and beckoned everypony closer, as if sharing a massive secret. "Here's the idea I've got...." --------------- Agent F, you called...I take it you have something to report? the mildly irritated voice hissed out of the small green gemstone that rested beneath the graying mane of this "Agent F." "Yes my Liege," amethyst eyes peered out of the hay loft of the barn that Volare had catapulted himself off of, their owner mildly surprised that he hadn't spotted her just inside the door she'd been watching the events unfold through. Then again, he seemed fairly distracted, what with all that music being played and one of the craziest flight stunts "Agent F" had ever seen a young flier attempt...he very well could have impaled himself on one of those trees, but somehow, he'd avoided them all with relative ease from her viewpoint. Heh, I remember when I used to be able to fly like that... Don't use that title, you foal, the voice growled bitingly. It implies I'm the ruler or the future ruler of something...by now you should know that none of that is in my plans! "My apologies, sir," "Agent F" bowed to nopony in particular before giving a report on all she'd heard over the past 24 hours, from the dinner conversation at the Apple Family house, to what had just happened in front of the farm, all of which was received with amused hmm's and is that so's from her Boss. So he can fly now, eh? "Yes...he's rough, but it's fairly impressive for his first day doing this," the Agent replied. That's not a problem...it simply means he'll require further "polishing", the voice's dark chuckle raised the hair of the Agent's mane. Anything else? "Oh yes, one more interesting thing: that Great and Powerful Trixie has been befriended by the Element Holders and Volare via his compassion." What!? That bitch! a near-screech of a female voice exploded from the gemstone, causing the Agent to wince in discomfort. After all we did for her, can you believe that?! We did try to kill her, Jill. Shut it, Ray! Hmm-hmm, how about both of you children hush up while the Master is on call, hmm? a second female voice halfway between cultured and deranged sneered at the two arguing Unicorn siblings. The Agent facehoofed; those two were half-worthless. It had taken all of her patience to sneak them out of Trottingham without their cover being blown,and even then she'd nearly given up and simply thrown them in front of the Royal Guards and taken the reward money for herself...oh well, c'est la vie...and the one that had just spoken, well...she pitied any poor fool that met her in an alley at any time, day or night. How about I burn that little smirk off your face, bitch?! Jill snarled, but was met only with soft, jerky laughter. Heh-ha-hah-hee-hee, you really think you could, hmm? How about I just pluck out one of your eyes, get into that pretty little skull of yours, and find out what makes you tick instead, Jillian? Grrr-Bring it on, whore! SILENCE ALL OF YOU!!! the Boss shouted so loudly that the Agent nearly threw away the gemstone in disgust. What a damn disorganized mess this guy has on his hooves...still, could be worse...could be back in that hell-hole he saved me from... Agent F, can you hear me still? the Boss asked, his voice back down to normal, but she could practically feel the barely concealed frustrated rage simmering beneath it. "Yes sir." Good, my apologies for that and my thanks for your work so far. Are you ready to begin the next phase? "Yes sir, I understand the plan fully." No...no you don't. Don't you ever believe yourself to be so wise, the voice growled. Do you understand why we're targeting this human? If not, allow me to refresh your memory. Consider this a trial period, and if it succeeds, it may be applied to other humans as well. We will single this Volare out, find his buck, and then, when we've pushed him to the brink, that is when the true test will begin. Do you know of it? the voice chuckled devilishly. "Yes, I underst-" DID YOU NOT HEAR ME?! YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND IT, SO DON'T YOU DARE MAKE THAT CLAIM AND BELITTLE WHAT I'VE MADE AN ARTFORM!! the voice roared, staggering the Agent sideways and nearly knocking her out of the hay loft. ...Agh, again my apologies, I've had a rough day here...Agent, as you know, it's quite easy to physically break somepony's body, but then they are of no use to me...but to break their mind while still leaving them useful, that is the true challenge here. It's not like breaking a bone, which can be done in an instant. No, breaking a mind, or rather, certain pieces of a mind, without shattering the important parts, takes time; it's rather like performing surgery on a stained-glass window to remove a defective pane. We only wish to remove that which is in his way of becoming useful to us, and the best way to get him to do what we want is to dangle his dream-his buck, whatever that may be-over the fire. Hee-hee-hee, gloriously devious, Master, that deranged voice cackled, but the Boss ignored it. Do that, threaten to destroy a pony's dream, and they're putty in your hooves; I've waited a long time to determine if a human mind works the same way. If this trial period proves successful...imagine the possibilities of a human-minded Pegasus behind our cause! The knowledge he may impart us may be the tipping point in the conflict to come... "And what makes you think he'll support us?" Ah yes, I figured I'd left you in the dark on something else; silly me...I've learned over the decades that if you want to control something that resists, simply turn its greatest strength into a weakness, and then push it to the breaking point, either mentally or physically, and they'll capitulate to your desires once they realize their greatest bastion of safety is nothing more than a worthless hole in their defenses. However, as said, we cannot use the physical method, one because it would leave him less than useful, and two because now that he has powerful friends like this, they'd likely come looking for him...we don't need that. "So what's the plan in that regard?" Make him feel alone in the dark and desperate for salvation. 9 times out of 10, to save their own skins and to prevent themselves from falling off the brink you pushed them too, they'll grasp even the hoof of those that forced them there in the first place...and once that happens, they'll do whatever you wish to keep from slipping back to the brink. "And what about the other 10%, sir? What if he doesn't take our help?" The other 10% tend to be honor-bound fools and delusional idiots so set in their ways that you're almost better off throwing them into the abyss at the outset; its such a damned letdown when they refuse your assistance and let themselves fall into honorable nothingness...not like we need fools like that anyway though, right? "Right sir," the Agent nodded, swallowing the dry lump in her throat. And hopefully, if this little trial period succeeds...well...how many more humans are desperate for salvation and crying out for help because they're already hanging on that cliff? Billions, I believe it was reported...billions of desperate fools searching for an escape from the oblivion of their doomed existence...if we can accomplish the difficult task and prove a human can be pushed to the brink, think of how much easier it will be to simply show the rest of that race how I've saved one of their own, and then offer that same salvation to those already dangling by the skin of their teeth...those already searching for one to lead them out of the darkness...and do I not fit the bill? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! ---------------------------- "Volare, that plan is crazy, even for you," Twilight shook her head in disbelief. "Better than stupid," the Pegasus replied. "It'll definitely surprise the hell outta her if anything." "Yes, but that's not much better," everypony else there tended to agree short of Scootaloo, who thought the idea was killer, which was exactly what Twilight was worried about. "Perhaps, but it would certainly hush dear Dash's arrogant mouth for good on the subject," Rarity offered, wobbling on the fence before stepping over to Volare. "I'll support him in this; besides, I owe her back for what she did to my tail." "Wadn't Pinkie also involved in that, Rare?" Applejack queried. "Yes, but she's since apologized and made me quite a few delicious pastries to make up for it," she glanced back at her flank for a moment and frowned in worry. "They haven't gone to my hips, have they?" This elicited a round of chuckles from everypony before Fluttershy assured her that her alabaster flank was still just as perfect as ever. "You really think so, because I personally think it could do with a little workout and slimming down-" "Oookay, moving right along," Volare cut her off as politely as possible. "Twilight, c'mon, I mean, I kinda do know what I'm doing now, right? Doesn't that make it just a tad less stupid?" he reiterated her original statement with a smirk, but the Librarian wasn't quite convinced. "Oh come on, Twilight," Trixie nudged her former rival with a hoof. "Live a little; besides, I believe in him. Don't you?" One by one, the other ponies nodded or expressed their support through stomping of hooves, leaving Twilight the last of the Mohicans, so to speak. Faced with that, what little opposition she had left crumbled to dust, and she trotted up to Volare and prodded him in the chest with a hoof. "Yes, I believe in you as well...and I'll support your plan." "Even if it's crazy?" he grinned confidently, causing Twilight to roll her eyes and smirk cheekily. "Well, unfortunately for us both, I like crazy...but only over stupid!" she punctuated her statement with another rough prod in the center of his chest. "But to make this work without it turning into a disaster, we're all gonna have to pull together, cuz Dash is gonna be home in less than 24 hours," she paused and sighed. Still can't believe I got talked into this... "Is everypony ready?" "YEAH!" "Then let's go crazy..." ------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------ Notes: WHEW, that's quite possibly the longest chapter in the entire story, so I thank you for bearing with me through it, and through all the facts and science content of this story arc, for that matter! What kind of evil plan does The Boss have in store...what kind of CRAZY plan does Volare have? What will Dash's reaction be? And will Ponyville be the same...hell, will it even SURVIVE?! And who's this mysterious "Agent F?" Find out next time in the next story arc: TRUTH OR DARE... Volare: you really eat this up sometimes, huh? Author: isn't that my job? Volare: yeah, you know what, I guess it kinda is Here's the Q&A: >>>Inseptium Nova Story Arc Q&A <<< It's got a fun little twist to it this time, so be sure to read the instructions carefully before posting your questions/comments I'll be taking a break from Blue Angel till at least past the start of Season 3 (mainly to see what they do with Trixie there, if anything, because I'd like to incorporate Season 3 stuff into the story if I can), plus this arc kinda kicked my butt ^^;; Again, thank you for slogging through this thing with me to this point. I love you all! Other notes: I took inspiration from Volare's flight from this particular movie clip: >>>Test Drive<<< (if you haven't seen this movie, my god, find it and watch it-some of the best flights scenes in a movie I've EVER seen!) Fun Fact: until I wrote this scene, I had no idea that the Harrier Jet's engine was called a Pegasus...funny how things turn out indeed ^^